Dead Man Walking V2
by jinx777
Summary: The Kyuubi Chakra was split into two halves and sealed into Naruto's sisters, the Yang into Erza, and the Yin into Mito. But there was another being there that night, and three possible hosts. Minato was able to survive the sealing by changing the seal at the last minute, not realizing his mistake until years later. Rated M for Violence in later chapters and Language.
1. Happy Birthday

**So here is the new version of '** Dead Man Walking **', enough said.**

 **A warning for those that didn't read the original version, this is not a crossover. Naruto's sister Erza is based on the Erza from Fairy tail, but she is part of the Naruto world in this fic. Because of that, this is not under the Crossover category. Same with Soul Eater. I have used a few ideas from it, but not enough for it to be a crossover.**

 **Originally I wasn't going to use anything from my old chapter, but then I realised that there were a few things I just didn't want to write out all over again if they were going to be the same thing. However that is only for this chapter. I am also hoping to go into more detail about the time before they graduate the academy where Naruto is learning about what he can do.**

 **Minato and Kushina are overprotective in this fic rather than trying to distance themselves from Naruto, if anyone doesn't like this then don't read. I will say Naruto will still not like them and act more or less the same as he did in the original version of this fic.**

 **One more thing, I am having a lot of trouble with my account at the moment. For some reason I am not able to read any review posted after the 25** **th** **of December, and have no idea why. Because of this any questions will need to be PM or you will have to wait until the problem is fixed for a response.**

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 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

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Summary- The Kyuubi Chakra was split into two halves and sealed into Naruto's sisters, the Yang into Erza, and the Yin into Mito. But there was another being there that night, and three possible hosts. Minato was able to survive the sealing by changing the seal at the last minute, not realizing his mistake until years later.

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Chapter 1- Happy Birthday

XXX

Naruto sat in his room glaring out the window into the training field out back of his family's house, the curtains mostly closed and the lights off. The room itself was mostly bare, with a bead, desk and dresser. Everything inside it was white, and it looked to have been cleaned obsessively so that there wasn't a spec of dirt.

He hated the colure white, it was too bright and clean, like everything else in his life.

Naruto was one of three children, triplets in fact. He watched as his sisters, Mito, continually hit and kicked a training dummy, their father Minato cheering her on from the side. He could see the pattern of her moves, could almost hear the beat her hits were making as they hit the dummy.

On the other side of the family training ground, he could see his other sister Erza, moving through stances with a wooden sword in her right hand, their mother Kushina smiling as she directed her into different stances.

Both his sisters looked like mini versions of their mother with the same long red hair and light purple eyes, but with three whisker marks on each cheek. Mito was dressed in a white blows, red hakama pants, and white bandages wrapped around her hands and wrists. Erza on the other hand, like to wear armour, with a blue shirt and metal boots. But while they both looked like mini versions of Kushina, the resemblance was nothing compared to how much they looked like each other. The only way to tell them apart was there clothes, and sometimes the hair styles.

Almost seven years ago, on the night he was born, the Kyuubi was forcibly extracted from his mother, who had been weak from giving birth to both Naruto and his two sisters. Luckily Minato had been prepared and able to reseal it before it could do any damage, along with just enough of the chakra in the air into his wife to keep Kushina alive.

The fox was split in half, the Yin chakra being sealed into Mito and the Yang into Erza.

Because of this both his sisters needed training from a young age in order to control the demonic chakra inside their bodies, along with the violent reaction that came with it. Naruto had seen them lose control once from his window, and both had been little more than wild animals until his parents slapped a seal on them.

Unfortunately Naruto had also not been left unaffected that night, though unlike his sisters he didn't get a power boost.

According to the doctors, the Kyuubi's chakra had affected all both Naruto and his sister's bodies while in their mother's womb. Mito and Erza weren't affected by it because they had the Kyuubi sealed inside them, their bodies having it's chakra to fight the effects. Something Naruto did not have.

They didn't even have a name for what Naruto had, and he really hoped they didn't name it after him.

The problem was Naruto's body only converted around 20% of the food he ate into nutrients, making it so that no matter how much he ate he was always starving. His body was painfully thin and weak, and Naruto would tire very quickly. The Doctors had actually expected him to have died before he reached the age of two, and were shocked when he passed what they called the 'danger age'. While they claimed he would never be completely healthy, they also said that he wasn't going to just keel over and die without warning.

However that didn't stop his family treating him like glass, like a strong wind would make him break.

While his sisters were being trained by his parents to be ninja Naruto was forced to simple watch, and if he even looked like he might ask for training they would give him this…look, like the mere idea of him training terrified them.

They always said they would train him when he was older and healthier, that they needed to focus on his sisters because of the fox, but Naruto knew they were just trying to placate him. They never intended to train him, at least no unless he gave them no choice.

Unlike Mito and Erza who took after their mother, Naruto took more after their father Minato. In fact, in the same way his sisters looked like their mother Naruto was a near copy of his father. He had the same hair colours with random spikes sticking up in every direction, and the same blue eyes. At least he would have been if he wasn't so thin and pale. His skin was so pale it had an almost grey tinge to it, and was wrapped so tight around his body you could see the bones.

Like his sisters Naruto had three whisker like birthmarks on his cheeks, though said cheeks were sunken in. There were also dark rings around his eyes, making it look like someone had punched them both and given him a pair of black eyes.

Despite the fact that his room was white, Naruto's clothes were black. Black jeans, black shirt and a black hoddie with the hood pulled up to cover his hair. This was mostly so that his skin was covered, leaving only his face and hands uncovered.

With a small grunt, Naruto turned away from the window and closed the curtain fully and plunging the room into complete darkness. Yet despite this, Naruto could still see perfectly as if the room was full of like. Naruto always hated bright like, it hurt his eyes and burned his skin. He much preferred the dark, where he could see even if other people couldn't.

Moving to his bed Naruto quickly got on his knees and reached under it, pulling out a scroll a moment later with a sign. It was a scroll he had taken from his father's library, a very important scroll even if the information it held wasn't considered hard to find.

The scroll contained the method to unlock a person's chakra system, giving them access to the energy running through their body. If his family knew he had this, they would undoubtable take it from him.

His father thought he was too weak to try and unlock his chakra, and didn't want Naruto to even try for fear of him getting hurt. His mother would be more than happy to never even let him leave the house again, and if she had her way Naruto would be forced to walk around in a bubble. Mito and Erza were no better than their parents, and despite them being the same age treated him like a little brother.

Naruto had been studying the scroll for the last week, making sure he understood everything. He didn't dare try and unlock his chakra in the house while his family was around through, his mother was a Sensory Type after all and would be able to feel him unlock it if she was nearby.

That was why he had been waiting for today, or more precisely tonight.

Tonight his parents would be out of the house, leaving only his sisters for Naruto to get passed. While Mito was starting to show signs of being a Sensory Type like their mother she was inexperienced, and wouldn't be able to tell if he wasn't in the house. She would however feel it if he unlocked his chakra, which meant he would need to get out the house without them knowing.

Naruto found his right hand moving to his pocket, absently palming the kunai inside it that he had stolen from his Erza's room. He would unlock his chakra and prove to his family that he wasn't weak and could be a ninja, just like them.

XXX

It had been easier than usual to sneak out of the house, not that Naruto was complaining. Both Mito and Erza had been busy reading some scrolls there mother had given them, and didn't even notice him sneak passed. Ironic that the son they thought was incapable of being a shinobi could sneak passed his already in training sisters.

After he was out the door Naruto sprinted to the fence at the back of the training ground, aiming for one specific part of the fence behind a bush. By the time he reached it Naruto was panting and red in the face from sprinting, leaning on his knees for support.

It was times like this he really hated his body.

Quickly moving behind the bush so he was out of sight of the house, Naruto took a moment to get his breath back before glancing back to make sure no one had seen him. When he was sure Naruto turned his attention to the fence, pushing on the bottom of a particular plant and smirking when it moved.

Quickly squeezing through Naruto paused just long enough to make sure it closed behind him before running off into the forest that took up the space behind his family's home, the shadows between the trees soon covering him as he disappeared from sight.

For the next half hour Naruto slowly made his way further away from his home and deeper into the forest, only stopping when he found a small clearing and could no longer hear the sound of the village behind him.

Licking his dry lips Naruto sat himself down in the middle of the clearing on a rock with a flat surface, taking the scroll out and unrolling it.

Naruto was about to start reading when he heard a noise coming from one of the trees around the edge of the clearing, and faster than his weak body should have been able pulled the kunai out of his pocket and threw it towards the sound with deadly aim. He had spent hours learning to throw that kunai while his parents were training his sisters, and it seemed to pay off.

He watched as what looked like a hawk fell out of the tree, the kunai having hit it right in the centre of its chest. As he walked over to retrieve his blade Naruto also noted with dull curiosity that it's left wing hand broken when it hit the ground, but didn't think any more about it was he wrenched his kunai out and wiped the blood off on the grass.

Returning to his previous position on the rock, Naruto turning his attention back to the scroll and slowly started to form the hand seal it said was needed to focus his unlocked chakra.

Closing his eyes Naruto turned all his focus inwards, looking for the 'streams of chakra' as the scroll called them running through his body like water. He started by feeling around his stomach for the mine pool of chakra, where all the small streams ran to and from. It was supposed to be the easiest to find because it was also the biggest, followed by the head and then the heart.

Slowing his breathing as he went deeper and deeper into himself, the world outside slowly started to fade away from his senses and Naruto found himself in a world of darkness. It was cold and dark, nothing around him and Naruto was starting to worry when it didn't change. This was supposed to be where his chakra was stored, the scroll said it should have been a blue light flowing like water in the darkness.

Panic starting to set in Naruto's mental image started to turn in every direction as his breathing picked up, looking around desperately for any sign of light until finally he stopped and just seemed to shrink into himself. His family was right, he was too weak to be a ninja. He couldn't even find his chakra, or worse yet he had so little it was invisible to him.

Naruto was ready to give up completely at that moment and was about to leave something in the dark grabbed his wrist. It felt like a hand, but was hard as stone and old as ice. He could almost feel the bruise forming under its grip as it started trying to pull him even deeper into the darkness. Eyes widening in fear Naruto tried to pull away from whatever it was holding him, the darkness hiding it from him. But it was too strong, its grip unyielding as it pulled him down.

This was impossible, he was in his mind.

Nothing else should be in his mind!

Naruto wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth no sound came out.

Finally the thing let go of his wrist, Naruto quickly hugging it to his body as he tried in vain to see what had been holding it. He turned in every direction, unsure of what was up or down at his moment as his eyes shot about looking for movement in the darkness. However instead of movement, Naruto's eyes found something else. Something that made his heart skip a beat and tears form in the corners of his eyes.

Light.

Not blue like the scroll had said it would be, but a dark purple ball of light surrounded by what seemed like grey flames. It almost remained Naruto of an egg, but as he got closer it got larger and larger. By the time he was only a few feet from it, the egg looked to be the size of the Hokage Tower. As he slowly reached a hand towards the grey outline, Naruto noticed that his hand and arm were bleached of colour, like the negative of a picture.

All thoughts of whatever it had been that brought him here were gone from Naruto's mind, all his focus on the light as his hand slowly inched towards it. He let out a slight gasp as his palm hit the light and it turned out to be solid, with the texture of ice cold glass.

Naruto pushed against it slightly and was surprised to find that while it still felt as sold as glass, it gave slightly under the pressure like rubber. Pushing a little more, Naruto soon found the limit and frowned before trying to use both hands. It gave a little more until there was an indent about as deep as his elbows, before it pushed back and Naruto was thrown away slightly.

He tried again, only to be pushed back again as a deep frown grew on his lips and he started pounding against the light it little success.

" _Your knife…use your kunai…_ "

Spinning around in fear, Naruto strained his eyes looking out into the darkness, trying to find what had spoken. The voice had sounded odd, like dry leaves in the wind and had sent a shiver down his spin. But no matter how hard he looked there was nothing, no movement just darkness stretching out as far as his eyes could see.

Slowly turning back to the egg, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out the kunai. How he still had it when was in his mind Naruto didn't know, but at the moment he really didn't care.

Liking his lips Naruto pushed the tip into the surface of the egg, feeling as it resisted slightly before cutting through. Smiling the he started using the kunai to cut a line through the light until it was almost as tall as him, before quickly putting the kunai back in his pocket. Not giving himself time to over think what he was out to do, Naruto pushed himself through the hole he had just make in the egg and plunged headfirst into the light.

For a moment Naruto was overcome with a feeling off absolute peace, warmth flooded his body and for the first time it didn't make him uncomfortable. All the aches in his body he had grown used to for as long as he could remember were being soothed away, all pain and sadness gone…

…only to be replaced by new pain.

It hit like a hammer, slamming into his body and knocking the wind out of him. Burning, he was burning from the inside. He could feel as the fire burned its way through…something, like veins inside his body that he had never known about and didn't carry blood. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his fingers dug into his body trying to get the fire out.

Naruto was burning for a few second, before finally his mind could take no more and simple blacked out.

XXX

When Naruto woke up he knew he was back in his body in the real world, mostly because of the feel of the cold stone under him. He pulled in deep, wheezing breaths as he used his hands to push himself up into a sitting position. His body ached more than he could ever remember it doing, and although the fire was no longer raging through him he could still feeling something moving around in its place.

When he finally opened his eyes the world was spinning, or maybe it was his head. He couldn't think very clearly yet, the memory of the pain running through his now numb body was clouding his thoughts.

Yet at the same time he was aware of everything around him, the sweat dripping off his skin and hitting the rock underneath him.

The wind pushing its way through the trees and their leaves, whistling as it passed his ears. He could…feel, every living thing in the forest around him. He could feel the birds in the trees, the deer moving as a group not a hundred meters from where he was. Naruto could feel every insect in the grass and under the ground, he knew the exact number of every ant in three different colonies in the clearing around him and feel as they worked tirelessly. A beehive hanging on a tree to his right, thousands of bees flying in and out in a constant stream.

It was all just so much.

Slowly Naruto started to calm down, pull himself together to a point he could think somewhat clearly again.

If he stayed out too long one of his sisters might decide to check on him, and it he wasn't there they would go straight to their parents who would probably forma whole search party to find him.

That was the last thing he needed.

Slowly getting to his feet on legs that felt like water under his weight, Naruto was about to start making his way home when he noticed something odd. Floating above the hawk he had killed was a strange, blue ball with a pure white core. At first he had trouble focusing on it, his eyes blurring slightly, but the more he tried to see it clearly the clearer it became. It looked a lot like the egg he had found in his mind, though a lot smaller and different colours.

Unknown to Naruto was that fact that was his eyes were adjusting to the point they could see the egg, his irises had leaked out and covered his eyes until they were nothing but two pools of darkness. When added to his usual thin and pale appearance, it gave him the appearance of skeleton with nothing in its eyeholes.

For about a minute Naruto had just stared at the ball, transfixed at the pale light it gave off shined in his eyes, unaware of the changes or even that he had been slowly walking towards it.

Then Naruto was suddenly struck with a craving, his mouth dry as he licked his lips. He didn't know what this thing was, if it was dangerous or some kind of Jutsu he had never heard of, but there was one thing he did know. The pale blue egg made out of light was the most delicious thing he had ever seen, and he wanted nothing more than to eat it whole.

Slowly reaching out towards it, Naruto wrapped his hands around the orb and pulled it towards him.

It was bigger than he had first realised, but still only the size of a duck egg and for a moment he was worried he wouldn't be able to fit it in his mouth, because something inside told Naruto he needed to swallow the thing whole. But he didn't care, he was so hungry and the egg looked so good.

Bringing it up Naruto opened as wide as he could, not realising his mouth had opened to twice what should have been possible, and shoved the egg in. For a moment Naruto feared he was going to choke as he tried to swallow, the orb seeming to get stuck in his throat, but then he felt it moving and when it passed his windpipe the young blonde took in a deep breath.

Then he felt it.

The moment the orb hit his stomach, Naruto felt his chakra increase ever so slightly, a cold sensation spreading through his body as it seemed to dissipate inside him and add to his reserves. He felt as the new pathways he had just opened pulsed, and couldn't help the pleased sigh that escaped his throat was for the first time in his life Naruto's body didn't hurt.

He had done it, he had unlocked his chakra. Now his family would see that he wasn't weak, and that they would have to train him just like his sisters. He could be a ninja just like his father and protect the village.

Licking his lips Naruto opened his eyes to relive that they had returned to normal, turned to the direction of his home and started walking.

By the time he had gotten home the adrenalin rush from activating his chakra had worn off, and the moment he reached his bed Naruto collapsed onto it and was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

XXX

The next day Naruto was woken up by the sound of someone banging on his door and calling his name over and over again, and though it took a moment for his mind to fully wake up he easily recognised the voice of his sister Erza and let out a groan.

He didn't hate his sisters or anything, though they weren't as close as they had once been. When they were younger he did everything with them, hell he would go to them if he had a nightmare in the night instead of his parents. But then they had started training and he was left out, their parents refusing to even consider letting him join.

That was a year ago and since then he had become…distant from Erza and Mito. Not that either of his sisters actually noticed, there were too busy training to realised he was being left out.

It wasn't fair that they were being trained while he was being treated like glass, and even though they tried to spend time with him they were usually busy with something to do with training. But that was going to change now he had unlocked his chakra, now he could train with them. Then there was the fact he wanted to ask his parents what that weird egg he had swallowed last night had been, the fact he had done something so stupid scaring him.

His back clicking as he got out of bed still dressed in the clothes he had worn last night, Naruto moved to the door and opened it. He was a little surprised to see that not only Erza standing on the other side but Mito as well, both smiling at him.

Mito was the first to step forward and pull Naruto into a hug, though the blonde was annoyed when he noticed that she was being overly gentle. Still treating him like glass…

"Happy Birthday Naruto-Onii!"

It took a moment for the words to sink into his head, though he did notice Erza taking Mito's place and hug him.

"…Birthday?"

Both girls frowned at him, Erza stepping back from the hug so she was once again next to Mito and place her hands on her hips in a way Naruto had seen their mother do.

"Really Naruto-Onii, you should get out of your room more often if you don't even know it's our birthday."

"If I had a reason to leave my room more often maybe I would…"

His comment was met with uncomfortable silence, both girls suddenly looking…guilty? Maybe they weren't as clueless as Naruto had first thought, they at least realised what he was hinting at.

But as quick as it came the moment was gone and Mito was bouncing on the balls of her feet and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of his room and towards the stairs.

"Come on Naruto-Onii, mum and dad are waiting for us downstairs. Don't forget we still have to get everything ready for our party, everyone is coming."

Naruto's face darkened slightly at the mention of the arty, not that either of his sisters seemed to notice as he whispered under his breath.

"You mean your party…"

XXX

Throughout the day Naruto had tried to talk to either his mother or father with little successes, at least beyond them saying happy birthday. When they weren't telling him to eat to help keep his strength up, they were moving around the house setting up everything for when the clan heads and their children arrived for the party.

Since they were young the clan heir and the Namikaze triplets had been forced to interact with each other, their parents trying to ensure they would all get along when they were older and running the village. Naruto was sure the fact at least all of the main clans had children the same age was not a coincidence.

However out of all of the other clan heirs the only one there age that Naruto actually got along with was Shikamaru, and even then they only ever played chess.( **1** ) Shikamaru was winning at 34 wins to Naruto's 17, but according to the lazy boy he was the only person outside his clan that had ever beaten him.

He did however get along well with Itachi, the older of the Uchiha children. While they didn't speak often the few times they did Naruto enjoyed his company, and the older teen was probably the only person that didn't treat him like he was made of glass.

His brother on the other hand was a whinny little mummies boy, that followed his brother around like a shadow. Unfortunately he was also one of Erza and Mito's best friends, so he was around more often than not.

Naruto was still trying to talk to either both or even one of his parents when the party started, and it was all but hopeless then because they were too busy talking with the other adults. Naruto just found a quiet corner of the room to sit in and watch as his family moved around the room, laughing and talking to everyone.

No one seemed to even notice him other than Shikamaru sending him a nod with his usual bored expression on his face, though he thought he saw his sisters sending him the odd look out of the corner of their eyes.

"Happy Birthday Naruto-san."

Slowly turning to look at the person that had walked over to him while he had his eyes closed, Naruto let a small smile cross hi lips when he saw the ever stoic Itachi taking the seat next to him.

"Hey Itachi…thanks I guess."

They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, both simple watching the other people in the room until the older teen finally spoke again.

"I see you found that scroll I recommended, I can see _it_ flowing through your body. Though it is a…odd colour for some reason."

Looking at the teen out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto wasn't surprised to see his eyes flashing red as they stared at him.

It was true Itachi had told him which scroll he needed to find to unlock his chakra, not that anyone other than the two of them knew this fact. While everyone else saw him as nothing but a weak sick little boy, Itachi said he saw Naruto's potential and that he wanted to help insure he could reach it. He told Naruto what scrolls to read, recommended different training methods that he would be able to do until his body was stronger and even showed him the proper way to throw the kunai he stole.

Making sure not to look like they were doing more than exchanging pleasantries after seeing his mother glancing in their direction, Naruto gave a small nod.

"I was able to sneak out last night and unlock it, though it wasn't exactly like the scroll said it did push me in the right direction."

"Good."

It was then that Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a fist sized scroll, placing it on the younger blondes lap.

"Your Birthday present, your room looked a little bare the last time I saw it and I thought you might like something to put on the wall…"

Raising an eyebrow at the teen's words, Naruto unrolled the scroll to see the kanji for the words 'Underneath the Underneath'. It was a popular saying in Konoha o look underneath the underneath to find the truth, and was one of his favourites. There was a little string on the top so it could be hung, and Naruto was sure Itachi had written it himself.

However it was what was on the back of the paper that really caught his attention, a small smirk creeping onto his lips before he pushed it down. On the back of the scroll was a storage seal, small enough that it would go unnoticed unless you were looking for it and invisible when he hung it up.

Naruto already knew that his real present was sealed inside it, most likely so his parent or sisters didn't find it and try and take it off him. That was why Itachi had asked about him unlocking his chakra, he wanted to make sure Naruto would be able to open it later when no one was watching.

"Thank you, I think you might be right and my room could do with a little personality."

His only response was a nod, before Itachi stood up and walked off without a word.

XXX

The next hour or so was mostly the same was the first for Naruto after Itachi left, though his sisters and a few of the other clan heirs had come over at one point to talk to him.

Naruto knew he made the others uncomfortable, they didn't know how to act around him and were worried about offending his sister or even his parents by saying the wrong thing. His usual sickly appearance had that effect on a lot of people, both kids his own age and the adults. He was the son of two powerful ninja one of which was the Hokage himself, and he being so weak and sickly didn't fit with their idea of what a son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze should be.

Even his Godfather Jiraiya acted weird around him, if not outside tried to ignore him. The pervert would spend most of the time during his visits either talking with his father and sister, or perving on his mother only to get his arse kicked.

Even know Naruto saw the man's face swollen after his mum punched him for making a comment about her body, still smile and talking to people as if nothing was wrong even as it started turning purple as the bruise formed.

Naruto was about ready to head up when the sound of a glass ringing reached his ears and he turned to see his dad in the middle of the room, his mum stood next to him with a large smile as everyone turned to look at them.

"Attention everyone, I have an announcement! Erza, Mito could you come over here for a moment?"

Naruto watched with narrowed eyes as his sisters moved to stand in front of their dad, getting up from his seat and moving closer so he could see as the crowd started to block his view. He went mostly unnoticed as he watched his dad knee down in front of his sisters while there mother continued to look on with a proud expression on her face, and when he saw it Naruto felt a ball form in his stomach.

"Now after talking it over with your mum, and seeing how much work you have been putting into your training we both agreed you are ready. So first thing tomorrow, I am going to start teaching you both the Rasengan! Happy Birthday girls!"

The room burst into cheers as Mito and Erza both started grinning and hugged Minato, Kushina soon bending down and turning it into a group hug.

Naruto felt the ball in his stomach explode, spreading numbness around his body as the room around him started spinning. He saw Itachi watching him while leaning against the wall to his left with his usual blank expression, his eyes flashing red for a moment as if waiting to see what Naruto was going to do.

When the room finally did stop spinning around could only feel numbness for a moment, only for it to be replaced by cold rage.

Naruto went to step forward only for someone to grab his arm and hold him in place, and he wasn't overly surprised to see it was Shikamaru. The usually lazy boy was giving him a worried look while his hand gripped his arm in an iron grip, shaking his head slightly as his eyes moved from Naruto to his family as they pulled away from the hug.

"It's not going to change anything Naruto, just let it go…"

For moment Naruto thought about listening to his friend's words, the rational part of his mind telling him Shikamaru was right and that it would change anything. But the other part of his mind, the part consumed by his anger was louder.

Jerking his arm from Shikamaru's grip, Naruto turned his glare on the boy and snarled slightly. However what he didn't know was that as he glared, his eyes started to bleed to black. The young Nara's eye's widened in shock and he backed away in slight fear, but in the time it took him to blink Naruto's eyes were back to normal and he was moving towards his family.

It wasn't until he was stood right in front of them that Kushina noticed him, by which point he had set his face into a blank expression. For a moment he saw her eyes widen at him, like she suddenly realised he was there before they moved to the others then back to him. He saw the flash of guilt in her eyes, but it was only there for a moment before they seemed to harden with resolve.

"Naruto-kun-"

He didn't give her the chance to make an excuse.

"Are you going to lie to me again and claim the Rasengan is part of their training to help control the fox's chakra?"

His words seemed to be getting the attention of several other people around the room, and Naruto could see it was making his mum and now his dad uncomfortable.

"Naruto-kun please, we can talk about this later…"

"NO!"

Now everyone's attention was on him, including his wide eyes sisters.

"You always say we'll talk later, or that you need to focus on Erza and Mito's training because of that bloody fox! I've had enough or your lies! I've had enough…just tell me the truth. You were never going to train me, were you…?"

Silence, heavy and thick silence settled throughout the whole room like a too warm blanket. Naruto could see the adults sending each other looks…yet no one seemed surprised to hear his allegations against his parents.

Finally after what seemed like forever Minato stepped forward, standing between Naruto and the rest of their family and sending Naruto a sad look as he sighed. Naruto could also see Jiraiya moving to stand next to his father, his face stern but mostly blank.

"Your right Naruto…we never intended to train you. But you have to understand why, understand that your condition makes it too dangerous. Your body is too-."

"Weak! That's what you think isn't it, that I'm weak."

The words seemed to hit his family like a physical blow, making his Minato flinch while Kushina, Erza and Mito looked away from him. Finally it was Jiraiya who snapped, stepping forward and starring at Naruto with an impassive face that made the young blonde's body tense.

"That's exactly why kid, you are weak. Your body is not strong enough to go through the strain of Shinobi training, you can barely carry yourself from day to day. It's time you saw the truth Naruto…you will _never_ be a ninja…"

Naruto had started taking steps back the more Jiraiya spoke, his words ringing in his head over and over. The tears he had been holding for so long finally started to escape his eyes and stream down his face as people backed away from him, no one seeming to be able to look him in the eye as he ran from the room.

XXX

( **1** )- I don't know the pieces or how to play shogi, so instead am using chess. Deal with it! :P

 **So this chapter ended up being longer than I thought it would :)**

 **Hope you all like it, I tried to make it a little more believable then the first version.**

 **Jiraiya is not a bad guy in this fic. He simple did what he knew Minato and Kushina couldn't and tell Naruto the hard truth, at least as they all see it. To him it was a mercy, and while cruel necessary.**

 **There have been a few people PM'ing me about not deleting the original version, so I have decided to put up a poll.**

 **Understand that the old version will not be updated either way, this poll is too decided if it id deleted or not.**

 **Let me know what you think of the chapter :)**


	2. Hard Facts

**Ok, so again really sorry about deleting the last chapter two only hours after posting it.**

 **However there are a few things I want to say.**

 **This is not a bashing fic. It is not a hate fic against the Namikaze, Uchiha or any other family/group. If people don't like that, then just don't read.**

 **For those that pointed out that chess and Shogi are the same thing, they are not. There are pieces in Shogi that I do not know about or know how they move, so I am using chess because it is easier for me. I am sorry if you don't like it but that is just how it is.**

 **Also I would like to take a moment to thank '** ncpfan **', for his advice and help. He has been a big help with both this chapter and the one's that will be following it.**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 2- Hard Facts

XXX

For a moment Kushina could do nothing but stand frozen as Naruto ran out of the room, unsure what she was supposed to do.

Jiraiya had been warning them for year about not being straight with Naruto, that giving him false hope was crueller then just being straight with him. But how were you supposed to tell your child that they would never be able to live there dream, that he was too weak to do what every other member of his family did.

Despite everything that had happened with the Kyuubi the day the triplets were born had been the best day of her life, the day she had become a mother. Not even the Fox getting lose could ruin that, no matter what other people might think.

However her happiness couldn't last long.

It took about a week for them to notice something was…wrong, with Naruto. He fed the same if not more than his sisters, yet didn't gain any weight. His baby fat had been melting away more and more with each passing day, and his cries never seemed to stop.

Then the doctors did their tests and what they found broke both her own and Minato's hearts. Two years, three if they were lucky. That was how long they gave him, and that was only with her baby boy living in the hospital with an IV hooked to his tiny arm constantly trying to give him the nutrients his own body couldn't.

They had visited him every day, Kushina practically moving into the hospital with the girls for those three years. If not for his duty Minato would have been there with her, but they had made do with him making time to visit at least once a day.

Kushina had watched every day as her baby seemed to wither away more and more, getting thinner and weaker. He had been so small and fragile…like glass.

It had been a hard few years.

Then the day came that the doctors told her that despite the odds, Naruto had lived passed what they had called his 'danger age'. The worst was behind them and even though he would never be completely healthy, she could actually take him home again for the first time in years.

That should have been the start of something better, they were a real family again.

But Mito and Erza needed training, training to help prepare them for dealing with the Fox. Erza had shown straight away that she had the Uzumaki Bloodline of Solid Chakra, and over the years had demonstrated an understanding a skill in it that Kushina herself had never had.

Kushina could use it to make her chains with a blade on the end, and had learned how to use them to suppress the chakra of anyone or anything she had caught in them. But Erza seemed to be able to make almost anything with them, including actual _armour_ if all things.

Then there was Mito who while born without the Uzumaki Bloodline, was slowly turning into a very adapt Sensory Type. While Erza found her passion in Kenjutsu, Mito found hers in Fuinjutsu. Like her father she was fascinated by Seals of all kinds, learning them, studying them and taking them apart to see how they worked. That coupled with her growing skill in Taijutsu told Kushina that she would be a very strong Kunoichi one day, both her girls would.

Naruto…there were days he couldn't walk down the stairs without getting winded. Just the thought him even holding a Kunai terrified her, let alone actually training. But when he had seen his sisters training he wanted to join, Kushina had seen it in his face. Naruto wanted to be a ninja, her sickly little boy…

Both Kushina and Minato knew it could kill him with his weak body to simple unlock his chakra, let along try and use it. So they tried to buy themselves time, explaining how they needed to focus on getting his sisters ready because of the fox. They just wanted to wait until he was older and would be able to understand that he couldn't be a ninja.

But Jiraiya was right, even though she was angry enough to kill him at the moment Kushina knew he was right.

He had warned them from day one that to give Naruto false hope wasn't a kindness, and that he did not agree with what they were doing. He had even offered to try and help Naruto unlock his chakra, saying that it might actually help strengthen his body if it didn't kill him. But Kushina didn't want to take the risk, and had put her foot down.

That was why Jiraiya had always kept his distance from Naruto, unwilling to lie to him but at the same time knowing it wasn't his place to go against them as his parents. Kushina also knew that if Naruto had ever asked him, the old perverted would have trained him and he had tried to distance himself to avoid it.

However none of it changed anything right now, not after seeing her son running out of the room in tears with a heartbroken expression on his face.

Turning a glare on the legendary Shinobi, Kushina waited until she saw him flinch and look away in shame before running after her son. As she left Kushina could hear Minato apologising to the guests, before saying the party was over.

XXX

By the time he had reached his room Naruto's tears had given way to numbness, his face falling into an expressionless mask as he sat on his bed. His head was still ringing with Jiraiya's words, echoing over and over again.

But the fact was all it had done was validate everything Naruto had already known, that his family thought him weak. That they had been lying to him for years, that they never intended to train him like Mito and Erza.

Squinting slightly as he felt his eyes burn Naruto shook his head thinking he was going to start crying again, not realising that the pupils in his eyes kept bleeding out before receding again.

Naruto found himself absentmindedly palming the kunai that was still in his pocket, running a finger along the edge and making a mental note that it needed sharpening. He was actually about to take it out when he felt someone's chakra from downstairs brake off from the rest and start up the stairs, the sound of their footsteps soon reaching his ears. If he had more experience Naruto might have been able to tell how it was from chakra alone, but for now all he could do was tell that whoever they were they had a lot of chakra.

He didn't have to wait long however, because a moment later there was a soft knock on the door before it was opened and the face of his mother could be seen. Naruto's hadn't turned the light on when he had entered, making the light from the hallway cut through the darkness on his room only to end at his feet and leave the rest of his body in shadows.

But while his face was hidden Naruto could clearly see the concerned face of his mother, her eyes somehow finding his own in the dark even though she would be unable to actually see them.

She made no move for the moment to enter his room, standing in the doorway and trying to squint as her hand reached for the light switch. Only to let out a sigh when she did and nothing happened, Naruto having removed the light bulb several days ago.

"Naru-kun, we need to talk about this."

Naruto didn't answer straight away, trying to get his voice under control so it didn't break and show even more weakness then she expected from him.

"What's there to talk about…you've been lying to me for years. Making promises you never intended to keep, giving me false hope. You think I'm too weak to even unlock my chakra…"

He watched as she flinched at each accusation as if they were physical blows, tears gathering in her eyes. But at the moment Naruto couldn't care, as much as he loved his family they had lied to him and he was hurt.

Seeming to give up on the light Kushina walked into the room and sat on the bed next to him, and though she still couldn't see more than his outline Naruto could still see her perfectly in the darkness as clear as day.

"Naruto-kun…we should have been straight with you when you first asked us for training, both your father and I knew from the start that we shouldn't have promised to train you. I am sorry, we never should have lied to you. But we just couldn't…we thought if we waited until you were older it would be easier to explain things."

She made to rest her hand on his shoulder in comfort, but pulled back when he filched away from her touch and lay her hand in her lap and looked down.

"You have to understand Naruto, with your condition it is too dangerous for you to train. I spent hours talking about this with your father and even a few Medic-nin, we even considered training you in Genjutsu at first. But simply unlocking your chakra could kill you, your body is just not strong enough for the added strain."

Naruto did understand, and though hearing that unlocking his chakra could have killed him all her words did was make him angry. After all hadn't he unlocked his chakra the day before? Sure it had been painful at first but nothing he couldn't handle.

Clenching his hands on his knees as his eyes started burning again, Naruto somehow managed to ground out his words without shouting.

"But you never even tried…never are. How do you know that it would kill me, maybe it would help with my condition. Did you ever even consider that?"

Another flinch, followed by a deep sigh.

"We did and everyone we talked to agreed that _if_ unlocking your chakra didn't kill you, it might help your condition. But it wasn't a risk we were willing to take, not when it could cost you your life."

"Why was it your decision to make? If it's my life it should be up to me, not you or anyone else. If you had just believed in me I wouldn't have had to do-"

"No!"

This time it was Naruto's turn to flinch, the hard expression on his mother's face stopping the words in his throat.

"Naruto no matter what you think of us at the moment, your father and I had every right to make that decision. If it's a choice between your life or your ability to use chakra there is not, and never will be a choice. You might not understand it right now, but we could never risk losing you…not again."

This time when Kushina reached out to him Naruto didn't move away, and was quickly pulled into a firm hug while she stroked the back of his head soothingly. They stayed like that for several minutes, neither saying anything as Naruto allowed himself to take comfort in the familiar embrace.

When they finally did separate again Naruto saw his mother had tears in her eyes, but also had a small smile on her lips.

"It's getting late and a lot of things have happened today, I'll let you get some rest and your birthday presents will still be downstairs tomorrow when you wake up. If we need to we can talk more about this in the morning, but we will not change our mind on this Naruto. Unlocking your chakra is not worth risking your life over."

Naruto stayed silent as Kushina slowly stood up and left, closing the door behind her. He listened as she stood outside his door for a moment, before letting out a sigh that was muffled by the door and walking back downstairs.

Letting out a sigh of his own, Naruto lay down on his bed still clothed with one arm over his eyes as he fell asleep.

XXX

The next morning Naruto was set to tell his family that he had unlocked his chakra, and while he knew they would be angry with him knew it would all be ok in the end. He had proven he wasn't as weak as they thought he was, and now they would have no choice but to train him along with Mito and Erza.

Unfortunately while they were all sat eating dinner both his mother and Father were called for an emergency Council meeting, and had to leave before he had a chance to tell them. They had left with Kushina promising they would talk after it was done, but Naruto knew from experience that these meetings could take hours.

Mito had quickly taken over the table after breakfast to work on her Seals, writing the same ones over and over again until she got it perfect before trying to do it faster. Erza had relocated herself to the training room to practice her Kenjutsu, muttering to herself about needing to work on her spear skills.

With nothing else to do Naruto had decided to look through the presents he had gotten last night, but had left before opening.

Shikamaru had given him several new chess sets, each styled to look like ninja from each of the Five Great Hidden villages. Choji and his family had given him a cookbook, with hundreds of different recipes. He had even gotten a Bonsai tree from Ino had her dad, along with the equipment he would need to care for it.

There were several other presents from the different clans along the same lines, all of them unsurprisingly avoiding being anything to do with shinobi training unlike what had been given to his sisters. He did end up with a decent amount of money through, which he was sure would be useful.

When he had come to a small buddle wrapped in paper with pictures of toads on it, Naruto had debated for several minutes on just throwing it away before putting it down and ignoring it.

Then he came to the presents from his family. Mito had given him a notebook filled with blank pages of high grade paper, with Erza giving him a set of charcoal pencils for drawing.

His parents had given him a framed picture and all of them together, smiling at the camera. It had Naruto standing in the middle with Erza on his right and Mito on his left, both hugging his arms on their side. His mum and dad were knelt behind them, Minato with his arm around his wife's waist and Kushina giving the peace sigh.

Naruto remembered it being taken a week before they had started training his sisters.

Letting out a sigh after seeing the picture Naruto got up and decided to go for a walk to clear his head, knowing his parents wouldn't be home for another few hours at the least.

He didn't bother telling either of his sisters he was going out, planning on being back before they really noticed. He also didn't want to risk one or both of them insisting they come with him, which he knew they would.

Using the same method as when he left to unlock his chakra, Naruto made his way over to the loose board in the fence and into the forest without any particular destination in mind.

Yet after about half an hour of just walking and using his newly discovered Sensory ability to feel the different things around him, Naruto somehow ended up back in the same clearing again. The body of the hawk he had killed was gone, though judging by the trail of blood and feathers Naruto guessed a fox must had found it had taken it back to its den.

After looking around for a moment he gave a small shrug before walking over and sitting on the rock in the middle of the clearing.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he had been sat there, simple listening to the wind blowing through the leaves and feeling the thousands of tiny chakra signatures of the insects crawling around in the grass. However because of how focused he was Naruto didn't realised the world around him was slowly slipping away.

" **Well I must admit this is a nice surprise, wasn't excepting to see you again for another few years.** "

Naruto's eyes shot open at the sound of the voice, only to widen in shock at what he saw.

He was stood on what seemed to be a stone wall acting as the border between two landscapes, both as different as night and day…literally.

On his right looked like the forest that surrounded Konoha, made from tall lush trees and bathed in bright sunlight and in the distance what looked like a lake. Everything looked alive and healthy, and the air was filled with the scents of nature even though he couldn't see any actual animals. The sky was mostly clear, with the odd cloud slowly floating by.

The land on his left was the complete polar opposite however, and seemed to have been bleached of all colure. The earth was barren and dry sand, white as bone and swirling around the air in the slight wind. There were trees but they were as dry and white as the sand and looked dead, there shrivelled branches seemed to be clawing angrily at the sky. There were also several rocky outcrops bunched together there shadows seeming to be stretching further then should be possible, the stones themselves black as night. Unlike its counterpart there was no life at all.

The wall Naruto was stood on was as tall as the Hokage Mountain and looked almost 300 foot wide, made from a dull grey stone.

However the thing that shocked Naruto even more was the fact that above his head was a giant grey orb like the one he had eaten from the bird, only with a purple centre that seemed to act as the sun for both worlds.

" **Not what you were expecting I imagine, just take your time and absorb it all. After all it's not easy to see your own soul in physical form.** "

Naruto quickly turned in the direction the voice had come from, his eyes to widening even further in shock and take a step back in fear.

Standing on the wall not ten feet away, was a boy the same age as him. But Naruto couldn't understand what he was seeing, because the boy looked like he could be his long lost twin.

He had the same face and whisker marks as Naruto, but with shoulder length white hair and grey skin. Sticking out of the top of his head were a pair of four inch long horns the same colour as his skin, and unlike Naruto he was wearing a traditional white kimono with a purple roped tied around his waist to hold it in place. He also knife without a guard, the handle wrapped in bandages. It was tucked into rope around his waist at his left hip, his hand resting on the handle.

But the thing that made Naruto step back were his eye.

Instead of white they were pitch black, with dark veins spreading out onto the skin around his eyes like spider webs. Then there were the iris, two burning yellow circles floating in the middle of the darkness.

Naruto watched as his mouth opened, his sharp teeth and purple tongue as he chuckling slightly at Naruto's reaction.

" **You're not going to piss yourself are you? Because if you do I am not cleaning it up.** "

The teasing tone was easy to hear, and was enough to give Naruto a little of his courage back.

"W-who the hell are you?"

The boy just gave another chuckle and moved to look out over the dark landscape, hand still on his blade.

" **Relax I'm not going to hurt you, not even sure I can to be honest. After all, we are technically brothers.** "

Frowning at the boys words as he starred at his back, Naruto took a deep breath to steeled himself and moved so standing next to the boy.

"Who are you?"

Naruto watched as the boy liked his lips, a habit he knew he himself had.

" **Call me Shin, Shinigami is a bit of a mouthful, yeah know? It's also more of a title then a name.** "

It took considerable effort for Naruto not to back away again.

"Am I dead?"

" **No, not yet anyway. We're in your mindscape, a physical representation of your mind and soul.** "

"But…then why are you here?"

At this question the smile finally slipped from the now identified Shin's face, his lips slipping into a hard line as his eyes hardened slightly.

" **Until 7 years ago I was merely a force of nature, like gravity or the elements. I existed without a consciousness, and did the job Kami or whoever created me for. At least until I was forced into a solid form to Seal the Kyuubi into your sisters. If it was the normal Death Reaper Seal used by the Uzumaki Clan I would have taken your dads Soul before returning to what I was meant to be, and everything would have been fine.** "

It was then Shin rolled his eyes and turned to face Naruto, letting out a sigh.

" **I was never meant to be self-aware, Death needs to be unbiased. I need to be unable to feel guilt so I can make the hard decisions that I need to make every day, without it effecting me. The seal was change, and I was sucked into the nearest and best host at the time…you. After7 years of having an actual form even if only in your mind, I slowly gained self-awareness. I learned about the world from your memories and through your eyes, growing with you until I became my own person. Now I guess you could say I'm like the Tailed Beasts, a sentient mass of chakra. Which by the way makes you my Jinchuriki.** "

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Shin at this point, being forced into self-awareness when he needed to be impartial to everything. He was making a very strong effort to put the whole Jinchuriki of Death thing aside for the moment, he could freak out about that later.

"So you're really the Shinigami? You're not what I was expecting…"

This comment seemed to snap Shin out of his mood, a small smirk appearing on his face and letting out a slight chuckle.

" **Let me guess you thought I would be a giant floating man with a blade in my mouth, wondering around looking for souls to eat?** "

"Honestly…yes."

" **Well I am only 7 years old you know, give it a few more years.** "

"Good point."

They were able to hold straight faces for all of five seconds before both burst out laughing at the same time, the situation so…odd that it was hilarious. By the time they had calmed down Naruto had completely forgotten his fear of Shin, and was using his shoulder to hold himself up and keep his balance.

It was then that something Naruto heard his parents telling Mito and Erza came to him, something important about Jinchuriki.

"Wait, if I'm technically a Jinchuriki then why am I always sick. I thought Jinchuriki didn't _get_ sick…"

" **Because you're not actually sick, at least not in the way everyone thinks.** "

"B-but the doctors-"

" **Naruto I'm not human, I don't eat human food and because of the way the Seal that sucked me into you works we are one. Your body needs a mix of human food and, what you humans call Souls. Like that thing you found floating above the hawk. Chakra is life energy, and when something or someone dies it forms into a mass invisible to the normal eye. When you were a baby, your parents realised something was wrong, and you were diagnosed with that genetic disorder thing. The doctors didn't know about me so they came to the only conclusion they could. It's all bull shit of course, you just needed to unlock our chakra so you could see the Souls and eat them. That's why I help you find it last time you were here.** "

"So the more Souls I eat the healthier I get?"

" **Basically, yes.** "

Shin turned to look out over the side of the wall filled with life. Just as Naruto turned he saw the first sign of animal life, a hawk braking cover from the tops of the trees before diving back down and out of sight again.

" **Look familiar? It should. Your mindscape is the afterlife for the Souls you eat and stores them here, their energy feeding both of us while they continue to live on. That is why it's split in half, the light is the Heaven and the dark is the Hell. That hawk we just saw was the one you saw when you unlocked your chakra. But animals don't have the same awareness as a human, meaning they cannot be good or evil unlike humans who are responsible for their actions.** "

Naruto found himself silently listening as Shin continued to speak, ideally watching as the hawk reappeared only to disappear again several times.

" **I can see the life of the Souls when they come, when you eat a human Soul I will judge their lives and Souls and place them accordingly. The wall is the border between the two lands, a barrier that only we can cross.** "

Seeming to have finished his explanation, Shin turned away from the scenery and back to Naruto as the blonde did the same.

" **Naruto…you need to leave the Hidden Leaf.** "

Naruto could actually feel his mind stop, all thoughts hitting an invisible wall as his eyes widened.

"W-what? But why?"

Letting out a sigh Shin walked over to the edge of the wall facing what Naruto now knew to be called 'Heaven', sitting on the edge and fingering his knife hilt.

" **Naruto do you know what Jinchuriki are used for, besides contained Tailed Beasts?** "

Naruto could only shake his head in the negative as he slowly moved to sit beside Shin, the Shinigami letting out another sigh.

" **They are weapons Naruto, used both as a deterrent and when necessary tools of war. Your status as the son of the Hokage is enough to protect your sisters and maybe even you from the worst of it, but the fact is you are one of a kind even among other Jinchuriki. There has never been a Jinchuriki for anything other than the Tailed Beasts, let alone one to the embodiment of Death. You are unique and have the potential to be very powerful, and even in the Leaf there are people that would try and use you for their own gain.** "

"But my family-"

" **Would fight and die to protect you, but the fact is they also have the interests of the Village to look out for. Why do you think it is so important for Mito and Erza to learn to** _ **control**_ **the Nine Tail's chakra, not surprises it? While it is in their best interests anyway it is also in the interest of the village to have them strong.** "

Naruto found himself unable to look at Shin at this point, her eyes slowly filling with tears that weren't missed by the embodiment of death sitting next to him.

He did look up when he felt Shin lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

" **Naruto I am not telling you this to hurt you, and if you want to stay in the village I will never say anything about this again. But you needed to hear this. People have been looking for a way to control or avoid death since man first understood the concept, you are a five course meal placed in front of a starving pack of wolves. At the moment they don't know you are there, but when they do they will fight each other and eat you alive.** "

The tears had started to fall now, and the grip on his shoulder tightened slightly as his shoulder started to shake with suppressed sobs.

"I-I understand…but can I at least tell my family before I leave?"

" **I wouldn't stop you Naruto, but do you really think they would let you go?** "

Deep down Naruto knew Shin was right, and it only made him cry harder.

XXX

 **Hope you all like it.**

 **Again, really sorry about posting the last chapter two only to take it down again. But after I started writing chapter three I realised that it just wasn't working at all, and that lead me to take the story in a different direction then I had originally planned.**

 **However I think it is for the best, as this is working a lot better then what I had planned before.**

 **Let me know what you thought :)**


	3. Runaway

**Double update. Read chapter 2 first :)**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 3- Runaway

XXX

Naruto didn't tell his family about unlocking his chakra, or even try to bring up anything to do with it or training for a week. In fact he went out of his way to be nice and quiet, even going so far as to sit outside in the shade and watch as Erza and Mito trained. His family seemed to think it was because of him finally accepting that he would never be a ninja and that he was trying to move on.

But when no one was looking he started preparing, waiting for the perfect moment to run. He already had everything planned out, how to get passed the Gate Guards and where he was heading. He just needed to wait.

Naruto had just finished laying the things Itachi had given him for his birthday out on his bed, starring at them with hard eyes as he took the time to carefully examine each item. The Seal had actually hidden more than he expected, and still had room for more to be put inside it.

There was a black cloak with a hood and when Naruto put it on he found that it fell down to the floor and covered his feet, with the sleeves stretching passed his hands and the hood covering everything but his mouth.

There were also three scrolls, one with several chakra exorcizes and the other the basics on how to write Seals. Naruto had looked through both, frowning at some of the Seal designs. The last was about the different Hand Signs and how they direct chakra through the body, with sketches of each Sign to show how it should be done.

Then there was the blade, a sheathed knife with a foot and a half blade and no guard with the handle wrapped in bandages making him think of the knife Shin had. It actually looked a lot like the sort of blade he had seen ANBU carry, normally hidden under their cloaks on their backs. The sheath was grey and the blade itself was both shape and polished to a shine, which confused Naruto because ninja blades were never polished to a point where it might catch the light and alert the target.

A blank forehead protector attached to black cloth sat next the blade, something that was usually worn by Ninja that didn't have a village but weren't missing-nin. Ninja like that were very rare these days, though before the formation of the Hidden Villages they were almost all there was. If Naruto remembered correctly they were called 'Lone-nin', or 'Wandering-nin'.

There was also a compass that folded up into a small box that fit into a pocket on the cloak.

The last thing that had been inside the seal was a large piece of wood, where a note had been attached which was in Naruto's hands at the moment as he read it over again.

X

 _True ninja start as a blank sleight, carving themselves through training over time until the mask they create is there true face. Carve your own mask, and prove them all wrong for ever doubting you. And remember fear can be as lethal a weapon as any blade, you just have to learn to use it._

 _Give the world a reason to fear you._

 _Itachi Uchiha_

X

Putting the note down Naruto sat in his desk chair with his kunai and the piece of wood, which was already showing signs of being carved. Itachi had unknowing given Naruto everything he would need to not only get out of the village, but to also set him on the right path to surviving outside its protection too.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

XXX

The next day Naruto told his family that he was going to go see Shikamaru for a game of chess, and when Kushina offered to walk him there he quickly told her not to worry and that he would go straight there and back when he was done. However the moment he was sure that she had stopped following him from the rooftops Naruto changed his destination and made for his clearing, the scroll on chakra exercises tucked into his inside pocket.

After reading through the list of exercises Naruto had found two that he thought would be useful to know before he left, though was aware that he would be lucky to be able to learn one. The first he was going to try was Tree Walking, which not only worked as a chakra exercises but also a useful skill in general.

Deciding at the last moment to take his shoes off before starting, Naruto turned his attention to one of the trees and ran straight at it. Jumping as he got close Naruto aimed his body so he would hit it feet first, only for it not to stick and fall on his side.

"Crap!"

Rubbing his left arm where he landed on it, Naruto sent a glare at the tree before walking back to his starting point and running at it again. This time Naruto put as much chakra into his feet as he could at one time, his feet actually glowing grey.

This time when he hit the tree Naruto didn't slip off, instead he was launched backwards across the clearing. Hitting the ground with his back and a loud thud, Naruto groaned as he stared at the sky for a moment and watched a cloud slowly fly over the clearing before letting out a sigh and pulling himself back up.

However when he looked at the tree Naruto was confused to see that instead of an indent in the wood where he was shot off, there was a black mark in the shape of his foot. Moving closer to get a better look, Naruto saw that the footprint was where the wood seemed to have died, leaving the rest of the tree health.

What the hell?

XXX

Naruto watched with narrowed eyes and arm out as the grey mass of chakra moved around the clearing, taking the shape of a hawk for one second only to fade back into a formless mass the next. It circled around the edge of the trees two more times before landing on the rock next to him, once again taking the form of a hawk.

The bird itself had a…almost ghostly appearance, with the main feature being its glowing purple eyes that gave off the only light in the otherwise pitch black room. Even while in a recognisable form the bird held no details, just a grey mass of chakra with eyes. Every twitch caused its form to blur slightly, as if it was struggling to keep form.

Naruto was sweating now, his arm shaking slightly as he tried to focus. He held it for another two minutes before letting out a gasp and his arm fell, the bird instantly losing its form.

When it did the grey mass of chakra loss all form and streamed into his mouth, sending a new rush of energy through his body as it did. Letting out a sigh as he lay back on the rock, Naruto took his hoddie that he had set on the rock next to him and used it to wipe away the sweat on his face while frowning at seemingly nothing.

"Better…but still not enough…"

Jumping to his feet Naruto started slowly walking around clearing for a few minutes to stretch his legs, before sitting back down.

"Again…"

Naruto's hands flashed through Hand Seals even if they were slower than most genin would be able to, taking in a deep breath as he did.

"Soul Release: Spirit Summoning Jutsu."

Letting out his breath, Naruto watched as grey chakra was released from his mouth and into the air. It swirled in the air for a moment, before slowly lowering to the ground and moulding into the shape of a rat with purple light for eyes.

He held the last Seal for a moment, letting it go and held his hand out towards the rat. As the tips of his fingers flashed with grey chakra before it faded. Naruto let out a sigh as he moved his hand and the rat followed it, shifting in and out of focus like the hawk had as he climbed up the rock and onto his knee and sat staring at him.

Naruto absently noted the cold patch slowly spreading across his skin around where the rat was sat, followed by the sensation of pins and needles.

This was the first Jutsu Naruto had made himself, with help of course. With the Scroll on Hand Signs and Shin he had been able to start crating his own style of Jutsu based off of the abilities that he got from being the Jinchuriki of death. It had taken time to figure out the correct sequence, and a few near misses but they were going in the right direction.

The Jutsu took the same amount of chakra to create the Spirit as Naruto gained from eating its Soul, and when it was released the chakra returned to him minus a little depending on how long it was summoned and what he had it doing.

The first issues with this was that the sudden drop in chakra while not life threatening was exhausting, even though when it returned it was like getting an adrenalin rush. The second was that it was very hard to control the Spirit after it formed, and if he didn't concentrate would just act like a normal animal and do its own thing.

The advantages however were worth the effort to learn, and the time he was putting into it.

Along with getting some chakra back when they were released, Naruto also get there memories. It was a little odd at first, and had given him a few headaches before he had gotten used to it. Then there was the fact that his Spirits had more in common with ghosts then he had expected, and were able to actually move through solid objects.

Unfortunately he was still having a problem with making them solid enough to actually attack, because at the moment they just passed through everything.

But it was defiantly turning into a very useful Jutsu.

This time Naruto let the Spirit go before he started to strain, the chakra floating back into his mouth silently.

XXX

As it turn out, Naruto's moment came sooner than he had been expecting. Two weeks after his seventh birthday his parents were called to another Council meeting, leaving him once again with his sisters. He waited about an hour after they left before claiming to be tired and going to 'bed', neither Mito nor Erza thinking to argue or question him.

Once in his room Naruto worked quickly, gathering everything he was taking with him and packing it into a small bag, with everything important sealed into the Sealing Scroll Itachi gave him. He then put the cloak on, making sure it covered him completely before climbing out his window. He then used the drainpipe to climb down, before running to his usual exit behind the bush at the back of the training ground.

By this time the sun had just started to set, making the shadows longer and giving him more than enough cover as he made his way through the village and towards the North Gate. He had timed it perfectly, arriving just as the last few merchant caravans were lining up to leave before the Gates were locked for the night.

Branching himself in the shadow of a building, Naruto started counting in his head.

' _1…2…3!'_

Jumping out of the shadow Naruto closed the distance between him and the last caravan, rolling as he hit the floor until he was face up looking at the underside and at the slightly rusty metal frame.

He then used the first and only chakra exercise he had learned from the scroll Itachi gave him, channelling it to both his hands and feet so he was sticking to the underside and using his cloak to hide in the shadows again.

Naruto tried to make himself as comfortable as he possibly could.

XXX

Mito ignored the sweat dripping down her face, the feeling of her heart pumping faster than usual and the slight ache in her muscles. All her focus was on the punching bag in front of her, swinging back and forth as she continued to hit it and tried to keep her breathing under control.

She could also hear Erza on the other side of the room, the sound of the spear in her hands cutting through the air over and over again.

This was how Mito kept her mind off of all the other things going on in her life, a way to clear her mind. She knew Erza had a similar method, though instead of a punching bag she would practice with different weapons over and over again until the muscle memory was firmly fixed into her body and mind.

She also knew that they were both trying to distract themselves from thinking about the same thing, Naruto.

Mito could still fondly remember their brother when they were younger coming to their room in the middle of the night and asking to stay with them because he had a nightmare, who the fact it seemed so long ago now gave it a depressing aftertaste. Naruto had always been so small and fragile, he was more like a little brother then the same age as them.

When their mum and dad started training them both Mito and Erza had been so excited that they didn't even notice Naruto had been left out, at least not until about a week later. By the time they did Naruto was already different, he didn't smile as much or ask for help. Mito had seen him looking at them all with a hurt look in his eyes on more than one occasion, and it always felt like a knife in her chest.

But after the party things seemed to change for the better, while still seeming sad Naruto had started smiling again. He had started coming outside to watch them train and had started talking to them again. It wasn't the same as before they started training, but it was better than they had been for a long time.

It was also a lie.

Mito could see it and she was sure Erza could two, the looks Naruto would send them when he thought no one was looking. The almost invisible way he was forcing smiles that didn't reach his eyes, the tensing of his shoulders. She had asked her mother about it, but Kushina had just said she would take care of it and not to worry.

But that just didn't seem right to Mito, why did Naruto have to be left out while they got to go to the Academy? Why did he have to adjust in the first place?

Mito let out a loud grunt as she went into a flurry of punches, putting even more power into her strikes then before. Unfortunately she couldn't keep it up for long, and within five minutes Mito was forced to stop as she leaned forward and panted.

When she got her breath back Mito glared at the punching bag as if it had done something to offend her personally, and gave one more hit before turning to see Erza in a similar state with the spear she had been training with on the floor at her feet.

"Erza…we have to do something, this isn't right."

Letting out a sigh Erza frowned slightly and gave a nod, returning the spear she had been using to its place on the wall.

"I know Mito, but what can we do. Mum and dad are right, Naruto is too…delicate, and training might actually kill him."

"We don't know that, maybe he could learn Genjutsu?"

Erza seemed to think over this suggestion for a moment, before shaking her head with a frown.

"He'd need to unlock his chakra, and even that is risky with his body so weak."

Mito let out a small growl of frustration, hating it when Erza used logic against her like that.

But before she could think of another argument Kushina pocked her head into the room and smiled at them, the smell of dinner drifting in through the now open door.

"Hey girls, dinner is almost ready. Have you seen your brother?"

Erza spoke before Mito, drawing there mum's attention.

"He went to take a nap not long after you left for that Council meeting."

Kushina just gave them another smile and left, asking them to set the table while she went to wake Naruto.

XXX

Kushina frowned when she opened Naruto's door and found the window wide open, and no sigh of her son. Quickly closing the window Kushina gave another quick glance around the room before deciding to look somewhere else, closing the door behind her.

She went to the library but quickly saw no one had been inside since they had left for the council meeting, then the girl's rooms but still no sign of him. Frowning Kushina gave up looking and decided to do it the easy way, forming a Hand Sign and using her Sensory ability to scan the house for Naruto's chakra signature. While not active all living things had at least a tiny amount of chakra, meaning she would be able to feel Naruto's chakra.

At least she should have been able to, but after checking twice Kushina could still not feel anything within the house that could be Naruto. Starting to get worried, Kushina broke the Sign and quickly made her way downstairs and into the living room just as the girls finished setting the table.

"Hey Erza-chan, are you sure Naruto-kun didn't go out? Maybe to the Nara Clan Compound to visit Shikamaru-san?"

Her words got both girls attention, but there confused expressions only caused her worry to grow. Erza finally answered just as Minato walked into the room, a large bowl of ramen in his hands with a ladle sticking out the top.

"No he defiantly said he was going to take a nap, right Mito?"

"Yeah."

Kushina's hands had started to shake and her skin to pale, signs that Minato quickly recognised as he put the ramen down and moved to stand by her side.

"Kushina what's wrong? Where is Naruto-kun?"

Kushina felt started to feel dizzy, her mouth unbelievably dry as she somehow chocked the words out.

"I…I don't know…"

XXX

Two hours of sticking to the underside of a merchant caravan alone an uneven dirt road and a leg cramp later, Naruto was ready to make his next move. Being careful not to stop channelling his chakra and coming unstuck, Naruto carefully pulled out one of his old shirts and tied one of the sleeves to the bottom of the caravan so it would trail along the floor.

After making sure it was tied tightly, Naruto finally stopped channelling his chakra and dropped to the ground before quickly rolling to the right and off the road and into a small ditch. Staying still for several minutes and listening as the caravan's slowly moved away without stopping, until he was sure no one had seen him and let out a sigh.

Licking his lips, Naruto stood up and stretched the kinks in his body before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his new compass.

Getting his baring Naruto nodded to himself before turning South-East and started walking, leaving the road and heading in the direction of the closest port town where he would be able to find a boat to take him to his destination.

He stayed on the ground for the next hour, slowly walking through the trees and taking his time. At one point he was able to hit a rabbit he saw with his kunai, and after eating its Soul wrapped the body up to cook later. The sun had long set by this point, and the only light came from the moon between the gaps in the trees.

Once he was sure that there was no possible way for anyone passing by on the road to see or hear him, Naruto licked his lips and looked up into the trees before bending his knees and pushing chakra into both his legs and feet. With a small burst of chakra that left the grass he had been standing on brown and shrivelled Naruto shot up and into the trees, landing on a thick branch and grabbing the trunk of the tree he landed on to keep his balance before looking back at where he had been stood with a frown,

All living things had chakra, even plants. According to Shin his chakra held an imprint of death, and effected the chakra of the living. It wasn't enough to kill people or even animals on its own, but plants and trees were a different story.

Until he had better control his chakra would kill any plant life it come directly into contact with, which was the main reason had walked so far before starting to tree hop.

It was less noticeable then an actual trail of dead footprints.

Naruto's plan was to head to the east coast of the Land of Fire where he would be able to take a boat to the Land of Whirlpools, his mother's homeland. The Hidden Whirlpool Village had been destroyed in the second Great Shinobi War after a joined attack by The Hidden Rock and Cloud, and the island had been abandoned ever since.

Finding a ship that would be able to take him would not be easy.

XXX

Kushina kept her breathing even as she followed behind Kakashi, who was in turn following Pakkun and the rest of his Nin-dag pack. They had been following Naruto's scent all night after having found it at the North gate, but Kushina was getting worried. On either side of her were two ANBU, with another two trailing behind her at the back of the group.

If they followed it for much longer they would hit the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice, and if they didn't catch up before they hit the border they would lose him. Whoever took Naruto knew how to hide their own scent, but seemed to have forgotten or couldn't do the same for Naruto. Oddly enough they were also sticking to the road, which made no sense if they wanted to avoid being tracked.

Or maybe that was the point, trying to lead them in this direction so they thought it was a different village.

In the end though all Kushina could think about thought was who took him, and why anyone would take Naruto in the first place.

Considering the direction they were going Kushina would suspect the Cloud, they had a history of trying to steal clan members and had even attempted to kidnap her when she was a child. But with Naruto's illness he would be no use for trying to restart a Clan in the Hidden Cloud, they would have taken one of the girls if not both.

Earth Country was a possibility, The Hidden Rock village hated Minato enough to take Naruto. But they were going in the wrong direction, and Kushina didn't even want to think what they would do to him if it was the Hidden Rock.

But the truth was it could be any of the other Hidden villages, even their allies weren't above suspicion.

The closer they got to the boarder the more Kushina felt the tears building in her eyes try and escape, causing her to blink rapidly to try and stop them. Then it happened, Kakashi's pack came to an abrupt stop as if they had hit an invisible wall. They all came to a stop behind them, looking ahead in a vain attempt see if they could spot some sign of Naruto or his captors.

Kushina was able to hold herself together for all of five seconds before trying to run forward across the border, only for wooden beams to shot out of the ground and wrap around her like snakes. Before she could move an inch her arms were held at her side and her feet together, there was even a beam around her neck to stop her head moving.

She thrashed around wildly for several minutes, before letting out a growl when she realised it was no use and moved her eyes to glare at the dragon masked ANBU holding his hands in a Sign.

"Let me go Tenzo!"

"I'm sorry Kushina-sama, but I cannot allow you to cross the border without asking the Daimyo first. The Land of Rice is allied with Earth Country making it hostile territory, entering without the consent could be taken as an act of war."

"I don't care! Let me go!"

There was a lock creaking noise, and both Kakashi and the gathered ANBU were scared when they realised that it was coming from the now cracking wood restraints.

Thinking quickly Kakashi ran over and spoke to Kushina, being careful to keep his distance just in case.

"Kushina-sama please calm down and think! You can't help Naruto by starting the next Great Shinobi War. The trail has gone cold, we need to return to Village and regroup with Minato-sensei. He can recall Jiraiya-sama and we can start searching again when we get a new trail, so please just stop."

She was still struggling when Kakashi finished, but it seemed less fierce and more forced. The tears now streaming down her face were heart retching for all those that had the will to look at her face, and when Tenzo finally released her Kushina fell to her knees and sobbed.

XXX

Naruto was confused when he saw the lights ahead of him, knowing that he wasn't supposed to hit the coast for another two days. He pulled out his map and lay it down on the branch he had just landed on, placing his compass next to it and trailing a finger along the route he had marked so far. All he found that could explain it wasn't so much a village as a small settlement for Loggers and their families, and if it was then he was further North than he had expected and would need to change direction slightly.

Putting the map away again Naruto debated walking into the village or simple going around it, not wanting to be seen.

"AAAAHHHH!"

However his decision was soon made for him when the sound of a clearly female scream reached his ears, followed by several others.

Quickly jumping closer Naruto stop just inside the treeline of the settlement, only for his eyes to widen in horror as he saw the buildings on fire. It seemed everyone that lived in the settlement was being herded into one place by a group of what Naruto could only assume were ninja, all dressed in black with hoods and masks so that only their eyes could be seen. The only thing that identified they in any way were the Headbands, all with what looked like a musical note.

The few not herding the loggers and their families were using Fire Jutsu to set the buildings on fire, the wood and straw quickly catching and spreading with ease and roaring high into the air.

Naruto could only watch as people were pushed and kicked, even thrown in the case of several children not moving quick enough until there were all huddled on the ground with the shinobi standing in a circle around them.

He was able to count 11 of them in total when they finished gathering the people.

It was at that moment that one of the ninja stepped forward and pulled his mask down, showing the smirk on his lips as he stared at the cowering people.

"Alright you pathetic little shits, I'm going to make this easy on you. Tell us where the boy is, tell us I we let you live. We know he was in the area recently, we know he was here no more than a day ago. You know who I am talking about, and you know where he is. Tell us, and you live."

Naruto had no idea who the man was talking about, but from the looks of the people gathered they did. However from the looks on their faces Naruto also knew they didn't know where whoever these men were looking for was, a fact that was confirmed when a large man with arms like tree trunks slowly stood up and move to stand between the shinobi that was talking and the rest of the people.

"H-he was here, not a few hours ago. But we don't know where he is now, he was just passing through."

The leader didn't even spare the man a glance, simple flicked his hand out and threw a kunai aimed right at the man's head. Naruto was prepared to jump down and attempt to stop it, the muscles in his legs tightening as he crouched. However before his feet even left the branch something…odd happened.

The kunai stopped in mid-air, not an inch from the loggers face as the man fell back with wide eyes.

"You know it's not nice to throw things at people's faces? Very rude…what would your mother think..."

All eyes turned in the direction of the voice, the shinobi tensing and pulling out kunai as they tried to pin point where it came from. Naruto found it instantly feeling the chakra of the speaker and locking his eyes onto the top of one of the burning buildings.

There, stood as the flames under his feet slowly crawled closer was…a boy. He looked maybe a year of two older then Naruto, not even in his teen yet. He dull grey hair that fell to just above his eyes, which were covered by a pair of round glasses that caught the light in such a way that it made them shine and hide his eyes. The largest grin was spread across his face so large it looked painful to Naruto, and clenched between his teeth was an unlit cigarette. He was a little pale, but not overly so and Naruto could clearly see several scars running along his face with the stiches still in his skin.

His frame while not as skinny as Naruto was slim, with a grey and brown patchwork shirt clinging to his chest like a second skin. His pants were in a similar state, but not as skin tight. Then there was the white lab coat, that looked several sizes too big with the sleeves falling well passed his hands and the bottom bunching at his feet.

For some reason he had a shovel strapped to his back, and Naruto could see the fresh dirt that covered it.

Overall he looked like a mad scientist. ( **1** )

However as soon as Naruto finished taking in his appearance, he noticed the outstretched arm with the sleeved pulled up so his hand was visible. Said hand held with the fingers spread out wide, with the tips bent slightly. His hand had scars covering it, and just like the ones on his face they were still had the stiches in.

It was while he was looking at the hand that Naruto saw it, the light from the flames catching something and making it shine slightly.

Wire…no it was too thin even for Ninja Wire. It was string hundreds of threats of string shooting in every direction all over the burning settlement and covering it like a spider's web, and they all seemed to be connected to the boy's outstretched hand. Web that the Shinobi were trapped in the middle of with no way out.

The reason the Kunai had stopped in mid-air was that it had somehow gotten tangled in the strings, for some reason unable to cut them.

Naruto saw the moment that the shinobi notice the strings two, and one that had been smirking before suddenly didn't look so confident.

The unnamed boy suddenly let himself drop and sat on the edge of the roof, the strings shifting with his movement.

"AAAHHH!"

And somehow cause one of the Shinobi to lose his leg, while and other lost and hand and the third his head.

This left 8 shinobi…all of which now looked very worried and pissed off.

The same one that had been speaking before slowly turned to face the boy, getting a cut on his cheek for his trouble.

"You little shit! You know you will never get away with this! He will just send more, you will never escape!"

The boy showed no sign of caring, leaning back so his head was next to a flame and used it to light his cigarette without taking it out of his mouth.

"You talk a lot don't you, I can fix that if you want. I always wondered what it would be like to remove someone's voice box, I know most go for the tongue but let's face it after so many years of being the first choice it's kind of boring."

A twitch of his middle finger had two more of the Shinobi fall, one losing his feet and falling into other and getting slice into pieces while the other was cut in half at his waist. The boy still showed no sign of caring, and the grin was still in place as he took a deep puff before leaning his head back and letting the smoke out over his head.

When he turned to face the man again he got a thoughtful expression on his face, the grin slipping for a moment as he took on a serious look and hummed to himself.

"You know, I actually think I have a better plan for you…"

A twitch of his index finger, this time only one being killed as the top of his head fell off.

"After all I could always use a few more parts…"

Another twitch, another two dead.

"And it's so hard to find volunteers…"

Twitch…and now only the shinobi who had been speaking was left, looking like he was going to make a run for it any second.

But before he could there was another twitch, only this time instead of cutting the man into pieces the strings wrapped around his body. They dug in deep leaving lines all over his skin, but didn't cut. The shinobi was spitting as he took in deep gasping breaths now, eyes wide in panic and unable to move an inch.

He was however able to speak.

"Damn you Frankenstein, damn you to HELL!"

The now named Frankenstein just tilted his head to the side and gave a small smile, uncaring for the man's curses.

"Where would be the fun in that?"

And with a final twitch the last shinobi fell to pieces on the ground.

XXX

( **1** ) Yes, I am basing this character's appearance on Stein from Soul Eater and he is insane. However I am basing his abilities more along the lines of Victor Frankenstein, as in Frankenstein's Monster. I am sure people can see how both he and Naruto will have a few things in common. He is not Stein!

 **Hope you like the chapter's, and again sorry about taking down chapter two to rewrite it. I realised I was backing myself into a corner with what I would be able to do in later chapters and decided to change it. :)**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	4. The Grave Robber

**Ok, so mixed reaction to the new chapters, but overall better than I was expecting. :)**

 **Just a heads up for those that said they weren't keen on OC, which is fair enough I understand. However I thought I should give people a heads up that Frankenstein will be a major part of the fic, and that he will not be the only one. I just thought I should tell you know so if you want to stop reading you can, I understand :)**

 **For those wondering why Naruto didn't leave a note, it is simple. He needs the time to get distance between himself and his family before they realised what was happening. There will be a letter, but not until he is about to get on a boat and therefor too far away for them to reach in time to stop him.**

 **Frankenstein is not as strong as he seemed in the last chapter, the ease with which be killed the Sound-nin was partly the fact they were cannon fodder, and the rest the fact he had hours to set up his trap for them.**

 **Also a warning, this chapter contains…well gore I suppose. Not the same as the last one, but you will see what I mean soon enough. If you don't like gore, all I can say is you might not want to read this chapter. I know it may seem odd, an author telling people not to read there fic, but the fact is I don't want people who have a problem with this sort of thing expecting something else and then getting uncomfortable.**

 **This is rated M for a reason, you have been warned.**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 4- The Grave Robber

XXX

The moment Frankenstein reeled in his strings, showing that he had a strange arm brace with spools of string attached that Naruto didn't notice before, the loggers and their families ran into the wood. They didn't even look back as the odd boy waved them off with a smile on his face. They seemed just as afraid of him as they were the Shinobi he had just killed, maybe even more.

Naruto stayed on his branch and watched as the moment the last of the villagers were out of sight, Frankenstein jumped down from his seat on the burning roof and started whistling as he walked over to the dead Shinobi. He even had his hands in his pockets, showing nothing but carefree indifference to the massacre he had just caused.

However it was after looking at what was left of the shinobi that Naruto saw them, all eleven of them floating about two feet off the ground. Souls, but unlike any he had seen while feeding from animals. Each of them almost completely black except for a few blue spots and the white centres, if Naruto remembered what Shin had told him the blackness was corruption. These shinobi must have been very bad to have such black Souls.

Naruto felt the saliva pooling in his mouth at the sight of them, his stomach giving a low growl. It took all his self-restraint not to jump down and grab them, his grip on the tree leaving slight indents.

His eyes flashing from the Souls to the boy as he seemed to be digging through the body parts, Naruto pulled his bag off his back and dug around until he found his recently finished mask. At least finished carving and painting, he still planned to add a few Seals when he understood enough not to have it blow up in his face.

The mask was actually in two parts, one that covered the lower half of his face while the other the top. They were made to look alike a slightly demonic skull, with large teeth and sharp features. It was separated at the mouth so that he could open it, and curved so it covered the sides of his and stopped just at his hairline. Most of the mask was painted black. With the exception of two white lines going down the mask from the top to the bottom, cutting through each of the eyeholes. ( **1** )

When it was place on his face Naruto used a very small amount of chakra to hold it in place, leaving only the blue of is eyes visible through the eyeholes. He then made sure his hood was up and covering his hair, before jumping down from the tree and slowly walking towards the Souls while the boy had his back turned to him.

Being careful not to make a sound, Naruto slowly walked over to the first Soul and reached out for it as he coated his hand in chakra so he could grab it. Shin told him that until he put a small amount of his own chakra into the Soul it was invisible to the naked eye, but he was also unable to touch them unless he did. His fingers hand just brushed against it when he felt something tapping his shoulder.

"Hey you, which of these looks healthier to you?"

Startled Naruto pulled his hand back and tried to turn and face the boy talking to him, only to trip over his own feet. Before he could even get his bearings Naruto found two hands held in front of his face, each holding some kind of organ.

How had he not felt him walking up behind him, he felt anything and everything alive.

Naruto followed the hands up the arms, until he came to the smiling face of Frankenstein. The boy seemed to care very little for Naruto's sudden appearance, seeming to be weighing the two organs in his hands.

It was also at this point Naruto got his first clear view of the boy's eyes behind his glasses, which turned out to be a golden yellow colour.

"It's so hard to find healthy Kidneys you know? Usually they get poisoned with sake or rotten, no use at all. But these don't look too bad, I'll think of keep them for later. Lungs on the other hand, well you wouldn't believe how many of those I go through. I'm actually thinking of replacing the ones I'm using at the moment, there getting a little worn out."

Unable to think of anything to say, Naruto could only watch as the boy walked over to a growing pile of organs and placing the kidneys on top. He also saw another pile of limbs next to it, and the last with heads.

Swallowing his shock as he watched Frankenstein walk over to another body and pull out a scalpel from his sleeve, Naruto finally got to his feet and spoke.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Recycling! I rarely get to pick through stuff this fresh, not an ounce of rot or a single worm…these lungs look good enough for now."

Naruto watched as with a hard tug, the clearly insane boy pulled out the lungs from one of the dead Shinobi's chests and held it up as he examined them and smiled.

"…w-what?"

"Just one second."

Without another word Frankenstein took off his lab coat, followed by his shirt. Naruto could only stare at the multiple scares, making the boys skin look more patchwork then his clothes. He also had a pair of bolts sticking out the sides of his neck. However when Frankenstein used the scalpel to cut the stitches alone a particularly large scar across his chest, showing that it wasn't a scare at all.

It was an unhealed wound of some kind, and Naruto felt his legs give out from under him again when Frankenstein actually shoved his own hand inside the cut. He seemed to be moving it around randomly for about ten seconds, and in all that time all Naruto could think about was the lack of blood.

Finally he seemed to find what he was looking, before looked back to Naruto with a bored expression.

"If your squeamish you might want to look away, this is about to get very graphic."

Before Naruto even had time to blink Frankenstein gave a sharp tug, and slowly pulled out his own lungs. The moment they were free of his chest the boy dropped them and quickly shoved the lungs he had taken from the dead shinobi into his chest, followed by the other hand.

Then much to Naruto's growing shock, he started talking in a slightly wheezy voice.

"You know you never really notice how much you breathe until you don't have a pair of lungs, it very uncomfortable."

Five minutes of fiddling around in his own chest, and suddenly he took a deep gasping breath. For that moment, Naruto saw him lose his casual attitude. Only for it to return a second later, along with an insane grin.

"WOOO! Nothing like a new organ to get the heart pumping…wait…nope, that one's ok for now."

Giving a shake with his whole body, Frankenstein pulled the string from one of the spools attached to his brace. It was at that point Naruto noticed several thing he had not before. Such as the fact the bracer seemed to be _bolted_ onto the arm, right into the skin. Then there was the fact that at the end of each spool of string there was a sowing needle attached.

With practiced ease Frankenstein re-sowed his own chest back up, using his scalpel to cut the thread when he was down.

Naruto wanted to be sick, he really did. But it just wasn't coming up, and he was forced to put up with the turning in his stomach as the boy went back to sorting through the dead. However when he saw Frankenstein's attention land on the Soul he had been planning to eat, he quickly pulled himself together enough to stand and move over just as the grey haired boy started trying to poke it.

He seemed to find the fact his finger passed through it very amusing, as he continued to pock it in vain.

"What the hell is this? Did you make this? It looks like a floating mass of chakra."

Licking his lips being the teeth of his mask, Naruto made an effort to turn away from the Soul and instead to the clearly insane boy that had just replace his own lungs.

"Who… _what_ the hell are you?"

Turning away with his finger still stuck in the Soul, Frankenstein seemed to get a slightly confused face for a moment before he seemed to realise something and slapped himself in the forehead as he turned to face Naruto completely.

"Of course, where are my manners? My name is Victor Frankenstein, at least that's the name I was given. Then again I guess all names are given by _someone_ …what was I talking about? Oh right, I remember now. I was named after my great, great, great, great, grandfather, who was some important guy back in the day or something. I'm also known as The Grave Robber, on account of me…recycling, bodies. I mean burying them in the ground is just such a waste! You know I once found a perfectly good stomach _and_ spinal cord in the same grave! And they say I'm mad!"

Naruto's eye started twitching behind his mask, an action he expected would be happening a lot over the next few hours. It didn't help that as he was talking Victor had offered him a hand to shake, that wasn't actually his but a severed arm he had picked up.

Though he did wish they weren't still standing in a burning village surrounded by dead bodies, but the odd boy didn't seem to care at all. They spent the next hour talking as Victor sorted the different body parts into piles, going off on random tangents every now and then in the middle of talking about something else.

It turned out he was one of the last member of a clan, who were all in hiding, that had been very well know before the Hidden Villages were formed. Though they had slowly started to die out because no one wanted them to join their village when they were being formed.

While rare there had been several Clans that either chose not to join any village, or simple weren't allowed. Such Clans had been named 'Rouge-Clans', though most had died out years ago or dropped off the map altogether.

The Frankenstein Clan were Medical Ninja…of a sort. Victor's ancestor discovered a way to separate his chakra network from his physical body, while still being able to use both. This lead to what had been called 'The Living Corpse Jutsu', allowing them to become for lack of a better word zombies. As long as they had chakra they could live with almost any damage, though if they ran out before things were replaced they would die.

There was more too it then that and other Jutsu, but Naruto didn't ask for more details.

They grew to maturity but stopped getting older when they reached their peak, but did start to rot the older they got. They also had no sense of pain, but also couldn't heal naturally.

However their inability to heal and the tendency to rot was counteracted by the ability to replace old and damaged body parts with what they 'recycled' from the dead, which was the main reason they were not welcome when the Hidden villages were formed. During the time of the Clan Wars the Frankenstein Clan became infamous for their Medical skills and…questionable methods.

However after the Hidden villages had been formed and the Clan Wars ended, they had lost there…recyclable material. They were forced to start Grave Robbing for body parts, which only made others more uncomfortable around them. Things had gotten better during the Great Shinobi Wars, but each time there was peace their numbers had continued to lower to the point of near extinction.

Naruto found himself feeling…sorry for the older boy.

Almost his whole clan was dead or in hiding, and he was forced to scavenge from the dead just to survive.

Though it wasn't just the Frankenstein Clan that had been forced to become a Rouge Clan, Naruto remembering a book he had once read on several. There were also several he knew that could be considered if not worse, on equal footing as the Frankenstein Clan on…unsavoury Jutsu.

Then there were the Shinobi from before.

Naruto had heard his father talking about the newly formed Hidden Sound Village, though not much was known. It turned out that the self-proclaimed Otokage had taken an interest in the Frankenstein Clan and there technique, and had been sending teams to try and…invite Victor to the village.

Apparently they were all little more than cannon fodder and 'scrap parts, and Victor liked to call them.

It turned out that the string trap he had set up was actually not as impressive as it look, those shinobi had just been incompetent. All they had to do was charge there kunai with chakra and they would have been able to cut them and if they had any brains they wouldn't have walked into the trap in the first place, which had taken hours to set up after he had left a trail for them to follow to the village.

Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about Victor using the loggers and their families as a distraction, but at least he had stopped any of them from being killed.

By the time they had he had finished explaining all of the piles of body parts had been sealed in separate scrolls, leaving nothing but the 11 Souls floating in the air. Most of the houses had been mostly burnt down, though the flames were still going strong from the collapsed timber.

Naruto didn't miss the fact that they looked smaller than before, and were starting to fade slightly.

"So I told you all the dirty details, what your story?"

Liking his lips, Naruto paused for a moment to think about what to say. He couldn't tell him the truth, the main reason he had left home in the first place was so people didn't find out he was the Jinchuriki of the Shinigami.

Thinking quickly Naruto gave a small shrug as he walked over to Soul he had been meaning to eat before with his back to Victor.

"Newly unlocked Bloodline, first in my family. Didn't like the idea of being turned into breeding stock, so I made a run for it."

The Soul was cold to the touch, and about the size of an apple now that it had shrunk.

"Really? So what's your thing? I met this one Clan once that could turn into water, which was really cool."

Turning back around to Victor with the Soul in his hand, Naruto smirked behind his mask at the surprised look on his face before lifting the Soul to his mouth.

This was the reason he made it so his mask was in two parts.

He hesitated for all of a second suddenly unsure if this was the right thing to do, but then the growling of his stomach decided it for him. Opening his mouth impossible wide, Naruto put the Soul into his mouth at once and swallowed it whole. ( **2** )

An adrenalin rush like nothing Naruto had ever felt before exploded inside his body, filling him with energy and washing away all the aches and pains after having tree jumped for so long. He felt his own chakra more than double, straining slightly at his core before it grew to accommodate added chakra.

Rolling his head on his shoulders and making the joins click loudly, Naruto turned back to Victor with a smirk hidden behind his mask. Victor gave a low whistle, scratching his head with a small frown on his lips as he seemed to be trying to understand what had just happened.

However when Naruto moved on to the next Soul, making it visible as he grabbed it with his chakra he seemed to slowly start to understand when he looked at the bloodstain on the ground under the Soul.

"Are those what I think they are?"

Shrugging as he eat his fourth Soul, Naruto rubbed his jaw slightly to ease the ache that was starting before speaking as he grabbed the next.

"Depends…if you think they are the Souls of the Shinobi you just killed, then yes. I can not only see them after something dies, but my chakra allows me to touch them and when I eat one the chakra is added to my own. My body needs a mixed diet of both Souls and normal food to survive, which is why-"

"You're so skinny. Let me guess, you didn't start seeing Souls until after you unlocked your chakra, meaning you were starving?"

Naruto had to give it to the boy, he was smarter then he looked…and acted…and sounded. He also seemed to be very indifferent to the fact that Naruto was eating human Souls, though Victor seemed to understand his silence and gave a shrug.

"Dude I'm a freaking Grave Robbing nut job, you eating Souls is not a big deal. Though I doubt you would have been used as breeding stock wherever you came from, because a skill like that is more suited to a Rouge Clan. You my friend as far as most people are concerned, are little more than a parasite that needs to 'feed' off of other people to survive. That's how most of us ended up becoming Rouge-Clans after the end of the Clan Wars. Just another Outcast, or as the 'proper' shinobi and villages call us… _Lone_ -Nin."

The way he said 'Lone-nin', Naruto knew that Victor didn't think much of the title.

Naruto had never even thought about it like that, but Victor was right. Would his family have thought the same, thought less of him because he needed to eat Souls to survive? No, Naruto knew they would have accepted him, though the rest of the Hidden Leaf might be a different story.

Suddenly his plan to run away to Whirlpool sounded better, while at the same time not as well thought out as Naruto had first thought. Where would he find Souls? Sure animals kept him fed, but they didn't make him strong. He needed to be strong for when people eventually found out what he really was, when they would come for him.

His hand hesitated as he reached for the last Soul, suddenly unsure with what he was going to do.

Until Victor spoke again.

"So are you heading to Water Country too?"

Blinking Naruto turned away from the Soul and back to Victor, only to deadpan when he saw the boy picking his nose.

"What?"

"Water Country, you going? With the Hidden Mist Civil War going on, it's the perfect place for Outcasts like us. More people killing each other than people ever bother to count, and there is always work in war for people like us with…special skills. So you going?"

Naruto turned back to the last Soul and held it in his hand for a moment, before giving a silent nod and swallowing it.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"Great! We can go together…how good are you with digging?"

XXX

Kushina sat silently on the bed in Naruto's room, her eyes red from crying and throat raw. The sound of heavy rain hitting the now closed window and strong wind the only noise in the room, one of the Land of Fire's rare storms having hit an hour ago.

She felt sick and tired both, physically and emotionally. But no matter how hard she tried Kushina couldn't sleep, not while her son was missing.

They had been unable to get permission from the Daimyo of the Land of Rice, though not for lack of trying. The problem was that unless they gave there reason for wanting to cross the border they would not be allowed, but if word that Naruto had been taken got out there would be chaos.

Even with his condition Naruto was still the son of the Hokage, not to mention an Uzumaki. The moment it became known to other villages that he was taken there would be a mad scramble to find him, so Minato had to be very careful with who knew. Which unfortunately didn't include the Daimyo of a country allied with the Hidden Rock, who were the last people they wanted to find out.

But now they had no leads, no trail and no way to track him. Even if they were allowed to cross the border now the trail would have gone cold, leaving nothing for them to follow.

There only hope now was, as much as she hated it at the moment…Jiraiya.

Unfortunately they needed to wait for him to return to the village, the old pervert having left after the triplets birthday after Kushina had…asked him to leave…with her foot…and a few kunai.

Minato had sent a messenger hawk with a letter calling him back to the village the moment they returned after hitting the boarder, but didn't go into details in case the message was intercepted. But depending on where he was in the Elemental Nations at the moment would affect how long it took the message to get to him, along how long it would take him to get back.

Two weeks was a long time for someone like Jiraiya, and he could cover a lot of ground.

Though Minato had used one of their codes to stress the urgency of the situation, so when he did get the message the old pervert would come running.

Letting out a tired sigh Kushina stood up and walked over to Naruto's desk, her hand gently over the top as another tear fell from the corner of her eye. However before she could start crying again, something caught her eye. One of the draws on the desk was partly open, just enough for her to see that it was empty.

Wiping the tear from her face Kushina pulled the draw out completely and felt around the back to make sure, still finding nothing before moving on to a different draw.

All of them were empty.

Feeling a hard lump start to form in her stomach, Kushina slowly walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room. Her hand shaking, she grabbed to handle and pulled it open.

Nothing

This wasn't right, kidnappers don't waste time packing. They didn't give the person they were kidnapping time to grab a change of clothes, or other things…Eye widening as a new set of tires started to fall from her eyes, Kushina quickly grabbed the dresser for balance when she was hit with a dizzy spell.

The edges of her vision were starting to go black as her head continued to spin with the new realisation, but before she could even fully think the words in her head the world faded completely and Kushina fell to the floor in a faint.

XXX

Naruto and Victor took shelter from the storm in the hollow of one of the giant trees in the forest, having long left the Loggers outpost behind.

Naruto had been a little disturbed when Victor hid the scroll containing the scrolls with his 'spare parts' inside his own body…literally. The boy had undone one of the stiches on his stomach and put the scroll inside before sowing it back up again as if nothing had happened.

They stayed until the worst of the storm had passed, at least for the moment and got a few hours of sleep. Naruto had not taken his mask off the since he had met Victor, and while he doubted the boy would recognise him even if he did had no intention of removing it anytime soon. In fact Naruto decided that the only time he was going to remove it was when he started adding the Seals he wanted to add to it were ready, not wanting to risk it. While his blonde hair stuck out more than if it was a more neutral colour, it was nothing compared to the birthmarks on his face.

But having left the shelter of the tree hours ago the two boys now found themselves soaked to the bone, Victor's hair plastered to his head and glasses steamed up to the point he was forced to take them off every few minutes to clean them. Naruto was spared the worst of it by his hood, which had not come down since they had started walking again.

While it would have been faster to travel by Tree Jumping for Naruto, Victor was not as familiar with the method and the heavy rain posed the increased possibility of slipping. Because of this and the fact Naruto had already put enough distance between himself and the village now that the rain was washing away his trail, the two boys were now walking at a steady pace.

"So you said you are the first of your family to get this bloodline right, so that must mean you are working from scratch?"

Turning to look at Victor out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto took a moment to notice that other than needing to clean his glasses Victor didn't seem bothered by the rain in the slightest before answering.

"Basically, though I have been able to work out a few things by myself though. A…friend, gave me a scroll with the basics of Hand Seals and how they work."

His words seemed to bring a another grin to Victor's face, and Naruto was forced to stop when the older boy grabbed his arm and pulled him to a spot under a tree the rain wasn't able to get passed.

"I have got to see this, show me what you got!"

Liking his lips as he thought about if he should or not, Naruto gave a mental shrug and started going through Hand Seals.

"Soul Release: Animal Spirit Summoning Jutsu."

Naruto took a deep breath while making the Seals, before letting it out with a dark grey mass of chakra that looked a lot more like smoke then when he had first started to create the Jutsu. He kept breathing out as the smoke swirled around in the air in front of him, before it slowly started to drift to the floor.

He watched with a smirk behind his mask as the smoke like chakra started to take the form of a fox with purple eyes, Victor watching with what Naruto was learning to be a rare serious expression on his face as he crouched down to get a closer look.

Only for the expression to quickly fade as he burst out laughing, another large grin returning to his lips as he leaned back on his heels. Taking offense to his new friends reaction, Naruto was about to complain before Victor stood back up and turned his grin of him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You my friend, will be one of the most feared Shinobi in the Elemental Nations."

Naruto was stunned for a moment, and much to his sham when he tried to speak it came out in a slight stutter.

"W-what?"

Victor was once again crouched down in front of his Spirit by this point, one hand slowly reaching out to pock it.

"You think I can't see what this is, I watched you eat 11 Souls remember? You just coughed up the Soul of a Fox I can only assume you at some point ate, meaning you keep some king of imprint of the Souls original forms after you consume them. If this holds true to human Souls too, then who knows the full extent of what you can do. Hell you might even be able to absorb- ouch! What the hell?"

Victor was cut off mid-sentence when his finger finally made contact with the fox Spirit, only to pass through as if it really was made of smoke. However that wasn't the only thing that happened, as became apparent when the older boy pulled back and looked at his finger. The skin that had come into contact with the Spirit had turn dark grey, and much to Naruto's shock looked to be rotting away very quickly.( **3** )

Victor showed little care as he pulled out a scalpel and cut the finger off at the hand, the digit falling to the floor at his feet. They watched in silence for a moment as the grey skin continued to rot away for a moment, before turning to each other with odd looks on their faces.

Naruto was confused, having not seen such a reaction before. But he had never used the Jutsu for anything but practice, so there were clearly more for him to learn. Victor on the other hand instead of looking upset about losing a finger, was only grinning wider as he pulled a knew one out of a pocket and started to sow it to his hand.

"You really are full of surprises you know that…you know I never actually got a name off of you."

Naruto absently dispelled the Spirit with a wave of his hand, taking a moment to consider what to say. He couldn't tell Victor his really name, it would defeat the point of wearing a mask. But at the same time the older boy needed something to address him by didn't he.

Apparently seeing his confliction dispute the mask, Victor gave a small shrug and folded his arms behind his head casually.

"Hey don't worry about it, I figure if you are still wearing that mask you don't want your real name getting around either…how about I a nickname?"

Naruto gave a relieved sigh, grateful for his new friends understanding and gave a small nod.

Victor's lips formed a smile that only boarded on a grin, holding his chin in a thinking pose as he seemed to consider what to call him before clicking his fingers.

"I've got it, I'll call you Ghosty!"

Naruto gave him a deadpan look that could be both seen and felt through his mask, before shaking his head and walking back out into the rain.

Victor followed a moment later, his hand once again on his chin.

"No? Ok how about Dead Dude? Corps Breath? Soul Sucker?"

This continued for the next hour, until Naruto finally had enough and sucker punched Victor in the stomach to shut him up.

They never did settle on a name by the end of it though.

XXX

( **1** ) The mask used for the story cover image, and yes I got the image looking through masks from Bleach.

( **2** ) Death will mean something very different to Naruto, at least as far as the Souls he eats concerns. His mindscape is an afterlife all its own, one that he himself can come and go from whenever he wants.

( **3** ) The rotting part is unique to member of the Frankenstein Clan, who use there chakra to keep their otherwise dead bodies functioning. For others it will have a similar though not permanent effect that happened to Orochimaru when the Sarutobi cut off his 'Spirit arms'.

 **Hope you liked the chapter, sorry it took a little longer to come out. Had a few things in real life to get sorted and didn't have much time to write :)**

 **Let me know what you think :)**


	5. Off to Sea

**Glad to see so many people enjoyed the last chapter.**

 **I will say now that Naruto will not be able to use a Bloodline of a Soul he may eat, it would just be way overkill and a pain to keep track of everything. He will also not be able to see the memories of the Souls, unless Shin lets him. Any Jutsu they know would have to be learn.**

 **Also with Victor and the Frankenstein Clan, again they would not be able to use the Bloodline of others, with the possible exception of Eye based Bloodline. But even then it would wear them out quickly so they would need to be replaced.**

 **Just in case anyone missed the AN I posted on the original version of** Dead Man Walking **, it has been adopted by** Nirx **with my permission. If anyone else wants to have a go at continuing the original version feel free to ask and I will even DocX you the old chapters :)**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 5- Off to Sea

XXX

Naruto made sure to pull his hood lower was they approached the port village, both to cover his hair and masked face. While the mask wouldn't be linked to him like his hair, it would still put people on edge. Though not nearly as much as Victor did, with his scared features and insanely large grin.

It took them two days to reach the ocean, and another five hours before finding the small port village.

They drew more than a few odd looks as they walked down the road towards the docks, though no one seemed bothered enough to actually approach them. Between Victor's scars and Naruto's cloak they could pass for ninja even if they were young, most civilians never looking too deeply where Shinobi were concerned.

Naruto was forced to drag Victor away from a few stores as they passed, the older boy taking a reticules amount of time to examine them just to piss Naruto off. He had need to use both hands to pull him away from a butcher's shop that had several whole animals hanging from hooks in the window.

The village was tiny compared to the Hidden Leaf and wasn't even half the size, so even with his Victor being a pain in the arse they got to the docks in under an hour.

The smell of fish was heavy in the air, along with the smell from the recently returning and unwashed fishermen they caught them. Victor looked like he didn't even notice while Naruto was trying not to be sick, but considering the older boy's habit of digging up graves it wasn't that much of a surprise.

However after getting to the dock came the hard part, finding someone willing to take them to The Land of Water. It turns out people were a little put off by the Civil War and had been avoiding it for the most part for a while, not that Naruto could blame them. Supply Ships had a tendency to be attacked and raided by both The Hidden Mist and Rebellion, though the crew were rarely harmed when they did.

This made offering to work on a Supply Ship for passage was no use, because no one was stupid enough to get near. Fishing Ships were also a dead end, most being too small to go that far away from the mainland. The few that were large enough to make the trip had set courses and none of them came close to The Land of Water.

In the end after hours of searching and asking around, Naruto found the owner of a small Ship willing to take them…for an unreasonably high price. The boat was in surprisingly good condition, even though it needed a new coat of paint. The man himself was very old with while grey hair and a beard that fell to his chest, with tattered clothes and rotten teeth. He also smelled very strongly of alcohol, and Naruto doubted his ability to get them across the sea in his boat.

Luckily between the money Naruto had saved over the years, and what Victor had…acquired over his travels. He thought it best not to ask for details, especially when he saw the spots of blood.

They were set to leave within the hour, after the boat was loaded and ready to sail. Victor had been…volunteered by the old man, Naruto didn't bother to remember his name, to help load the ship. Naruto was sure if he didn't still look like a walking skeleton that could barely hold himself up he would have been forced to help too, but the old man had taken one look at him and snorted before telling him to come back within the hour.

While he had been getting slowly better, it would be a while before he looked anything but skinny. However over the last few days since he ate those human Soul's Naruto had defiantly bulked up slight, and he hadn't been hungry for the last few days either.

Taking the opportunity Naruto soon found himself walking to the village's post office, the walls covered in shelves with bird nests for the messenger pigeon on them. Each nest with a metal plate with the name of the place they would fly to on the front, along with the price for delivery.

The letter Naruto had in one of the inside pockets of his cloak had been burning a hole in it since he wrote it before leaving the Leaf, and now that he was about to leave the Land of Fire it was time to send it.

It was a letter to his family, though he had addressed it to Shikamaru to be careful. He didn't want one of the people working at the post office to see the Namikaze name and decided to make a little extra money by telling someone that could intercept it, and he knew that Shikamaru would know to take it to his family.

The only reason he didn't leave it in his room when he left was that he needed all the time he could get to put as many miles between himself and the Leaf, and the time they would have spent searching the village before getting a tracking team involved had brought him even more time.

Naruto hesitated slightly as his hand moved to the letter, nerves suddenly making his body freeze. Was he really doing the right thing? Maybe this was a mistake?

But then Victor's words rang in his head again, about what he was and what people thought of people like them. He was a Lon- no…he was an Outcast now, a scavenger of the Elemental Nations.

Licking his lips Naruto let out a sigh and pulled the letter out and walked over to one of the people working.

"Konoha…no rush."

Without another word Naruto place both his letter and the money on the table and turned to leave, deciding to have a look around before heading back to the dock.

XXX

Kushina let out a frustrated sigh as she leaned back into the hospital bed, trying not to fidget under the gaze of the ANBU hidden in the room. She had been confined to the room and its bed for the last three days, after having fainted in Naruto's room.

At first she had assumed it was just the stress and the shock of realising that Naruto might not have been kidnapped after all, but after she had woken up in the hospital the doctors had a different theory.

Kushina was pregnant, about a mouth and a half according to their tests.

When Minato had told her Kushina had been filled with both joy and sorrow, the two emotions fighting for dominance in her mind. The fact she was having another son or daughter was great news and there was no way she would ever think differently. However the baby may never get to meet there brother, who it seemed had actually run away from home.

When she had told Minato her fear her husband had gone very quiet for a moment, a look of horror flashing behind his eyes before he could completely hid it from her. He had then quietly excused himself to go and check for himself, only to return hours later and tell her that he came to the same conclusion.

Minato was actually in a Council Meeting at this very moment updating the other Clan Heads, and she knew it would mean they would have to change the search method they had been using. It was a lot harder to find someone that didn't _want_ to be found over someone being forced along by a group, even if they were just a child.

Naruto had already proven himself more resourceful then anyone had given him credit for by not only getting out of the village, but also somehow making it to the border before they could catch up. He had timed it perfectly and had them waiting time looking around the village before even getting trackers involved. But it still made no logical sense that the frail boy they all knew could cover such a distance in such a short amount of time.

Kushina let out a sad sigh as she leaned back into her bed, eyes slowly wondering to the form of Mito sitting in the chair in the corner of the room reading a book on Seals with an amount of focus that worried her. Both Mito and Erza had been taking turns to keep her company, but both had thrown themselves into their training to an almost obsessive degree since Naruto disappeared.

They hadn't told them that Naruto might not run away yet, worried about their reaction. They would tell them soon, I would only cause more problems later down the road if they didn't.

For now she needed to keep calm and trust that Minato would be able to find Naruto, even if every instinct in her body was screaming at her that she should be out there searching. Kushina needed to find about the baby too now.

He would be found, and everything would be ok…

XXX

Naruto took in a deep breath of the salty air coming in off of the sea as he leaned over the side of the ship, his eyes closed as he took a moment to just feel as the waves rocked them slightly. They had left the port around five hours ago, and so far the weather seemed to be staying calm.

Naruto still wasn't sure what the name of the old man stirring was, though both he and Victor had taken to calling him Captain for lack of anything better. The fact he was still drunk when they set off had worried Naruto slightly, but after the first hour the sea air seemed to have sobered him up.

It would take them at least four days to reach the Land of Water, more if the weather took a bad turn.

Licking his lips Naruto turned his back to the seemingly endless sea and made his way below deck to the 'room' he was sharing with Victor. It was actually the storage room where Captain kept things that weren't regularly needed, like spare sheets and emergency food that didn't spoil. They both had their own hammock instead of beds, because apparently they were better for sleeping in on a boat. Apparently it was very easy to fall out of a bed at night when the boat was constantly rocking.

Victor was off doing…something, he had locked himself in the other storeroom and hadn't shown himself since. Naruto wasn't really sure he _wanted_ to know what the older boy was doing, though based on the sounds of sawing and curses it wasn't good.

Ignoring his hammock for the moment Naruto carefully made his way to one of the crates to take a seat, using the wall to brace himself as the boat rocked on the waves. He crossed his legs and waited a moment to make sure he wouldn't be thrown off, before letting out a deep sigh and closing his eyes.

It took less than a minute for the world to fade around him, having practiced every day before he left the Leaf. When he opened his eyes again Naruto was standing on The Wall, Shin sitting on the side facing Hell with his legs dangling over the edge.

Without a word Naruto moved to sit next the Shinigami, his eyes wondering the dead landscape before them in curiosity.

"I take it they all ended up in Hel? None seemed the type to feel guilt for what they were doing."

" **You have no idea, all of them were rapists. The body count they each had racked up over time was just depressing, and like you said not one felt regret for it. I found nothing that would make me consider putting them in Heaven.** "

Naruto was not bothered by this news, in fact if anything it made him feel better about eating their Souls knowing that they were scum.

"Anything I should know about? I know you said you wouldn't tell me everything about people's lives, and nothing if they went to Heaven but…"

Shin seemed to consider this for a moment, before giving a nod of his head and leaning back slightly.

" **They didn't really have much in the way of Jutsu I can teach you, the lot of them were little more than cannon fodder but there are a few for you to work on in your spare time. The only other thing I can think of is the fact that the Otokage is a man named Orochimaru, and he is bad news. I suggest we avoid both him and his village for as long as possible, because it would take a** _ **very**_ **long time before you could even scratch him.** "

Before Naruto could answer his eyes were drawn to movement in Hell, something that had never happened before. Shin had warned Naruto what would happened to anyone sentence to Hell, but that didn't change the fact he was slightly shocked.

Slowly wondering through the dead trees was a black cloaked figure without legs, floating about two feet off of the ground. The cloak was very lose and covered everything but the lower half of the face and the hands, both of which were covered in scabby grey skin. Its fingers were twice as long as they would have been, and from what Naruto could see of its mouth the lips were black and what few teeth it had were falling out and pointed.

As he watched the creature turned its head upwards slightly, letting Naruto see under the hood and see the skeletal like face covered in tight grey skin and empty eyeholes under the hood.

This was a Wraith.

Shin told Naruto that after judgment, if a Soul was place going to be place in Hell it would first be forced to experience all the pain and suffering they had inflicted in life. By the end of it they were reduced to nothing but a hollow shell, with no memories or self-awareness. The Hell portion in Naruto's mind wasn't punishment, it was merely the holding cell of what was left after the punishment had been complete.

As he watched two more came floating through towards the other, seeming to be unaware of each other despite being within only a few feet apart.

Shin followed his gaze and gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulders, his face set into a bored expression.

" **Pathetic aren't they, don't spend too much time thinking about them Naruto. They go what they deserved.** "

Forcing himself to turn away Naruto gave a nod before getting to his feet, moving to look out over Heaven instead. A moment later Shin came up next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

" **So you want to start on one of those Jutsu I get from their heads? You know before I cooked their minds like a hardboiled egg…** "

"Shin you have a way with words that is match only by serial killers."

" **I know, it's a gift really.** "

Shaking his head, Naruto stepped forward and off the wall with Shin following behind him.

XXX

The moment he saw the name written on the back of the letter, Shikamaru knew he needed to show it to his father even if it was too troublesome. They were all sat at the table eating breakfast when it was place on the table in front of him by his mother, and luckily Shikaku was still reading the newspaper while sitting at the end of the table.

"Hey dad…"

Shikaku didn't look up from his paper, or even bother to acknowledge hearing him.

Letting out a sigh, Shikamaru tried again.

"Troublesome…dad you should probably take a look at this."

"What it is Shikamaru, I'm reading?"

He still didn't look up from his paper.

"I got a letter from Naruto."

That got the older Nara's attention, his eyes shooting to pin Shikamaru's face before dropping to the letter in his hand.

"Are you sure?"

Instead of speaking Shikamaru showed him the back of the letter, where Naruto's name was written clear as day. His paper long forgotten Shikaku reached out and took the offered letter, a deep frown on his scarred face before standing up and motioning for his son to follow him.

Shikamaru was slightly confused that his dad didn't just take the letter and leave him to finish his meal, but that gave way to more confusion when he realised he was being taken to the Shinobi Hospital. Without any doctors or nurses giving them a second glance the two Nara cut a path straight to one room in particular, and when the door opened Shikamaru was face with the Hokage and his family all sitting around his wife who was currently laying on a hospital bed in the middle of the room.

There entrance got the attention of the two other adults, though it looked like Mito and Erza had both fallen asleep in the chairs they were sitting in. Shikamaru had no idea how long they must have been there, but his eyes did pick out the unmistakable trails of what he knew to be dried tear tracks down their faces.

Based on that he could only assume that they had been told something that made them upset, and had warn themselves out. His eyes quickly moved to the red headed woman in the bed for a moment as he tried to determine why he was in it in the first place, but other than looking very tired she didn't seem to be overly sick.

Then his eyes moved to the letter still in his dad's hands, and it wasn't a stretch to connect the dots that it was probably something to do with Naruto. However the moment his mind moved to the sickly blonde Namikaze, Shikamaru's mind was hit with the image of black eyes and the feeling of death that they had inspired in his body and he couldn't hold in the shiver.

Shikamaru slowly moved to lean back against the wall to the right of the room as his dad closed it and moved to have a whispered conversation with the Hokage, both men looking from the letter to him several times. At some point Kushina started whispering along with them, and Shikamaru was able to see the pained expressions that kept flashing across both her and her husband's face's at whatever they were talking about.

Eventually his dad motion for him to come forward and handed him the letter, all three adults staring at him.

"You want me to open it?"

It was Shikaku that answered him, the seriousness of the situation in both his voice and face.

"The Laws of the Leaf prevent the Hokage or anyone else from interfering with any of the Clan's unless asked. The letter is addressed to you, so only you can open and read it."

Letting out a sigh, Shikamaru gave a shrug of his shoulders and without overthinking it opened the letter and looked inside. His eyebrow raised slightly when he saw a second letter addressed to the Namikaze family in side it, along with a small note.

XXX

 _Shikamaru, please give my family this letter. Sorry for the trouble this is causing you, but I couldn't risk someone intercepting it because it was addressed directly to my family._

 _Naruto_

XXX

Without a word Shikamaru handed the note to his father and the letter to the Hokage, before moving to once again lean against the wall. He also noticed that both Mito and Erza were awake now, though they seemed to be very confused about what was going on.

It seemed like he was soon forgotten altogether though when the Hokage finally got over his surprise at being handed the letter, before reading it out loud for his whole family to hear.

XXX

 _I'm sorry_

 _I know it might not make any difference at this point, but I needed to tell you I am sorry. By now I am sure you realised that I was not kidnapped, and by the time you get this letter I will be too far away and out of your reach. The fact I was able to send this letter also means that I left the Land of Fire and that you did not catch me, which is for the best of everyone involved._

 _I know that you don't understand why I left, but I need you to know it was for the best of everyone involved. I did not do it to prove a point or hurt anyone, I am doing this to protect you. I am not what you think I am, there are things at play you do not know. It was no longer safe for me to stay in the Leaf, not when there was a chance someone could find out before I am strong enough to defend myself._

 _You said yourselves that you couldn't risk training me for fear of my heath, but by refusing to help me you have pushed my hand. I unlocked my chakra by myself but when I did I found out something about myself, something different._

 _I need to get stronger for what is to come, because when people find out what I am and what I can do it may very well lead to war. I know you might not believe me but you have to understand that I did not do this lightly, and I hope that one day when I am stronger I will be able to explain why I ran away._

 _I'm sorry,_

 _Naruto_

XXX

Well that was cryptic.

The young Nara new that Naruto had gone missing, he had picked up that something was going on from this dad even if the man had not actually told him himself. After that it didn't take long to realise that Naruto had not been seen in several days, which while not over odd for the usually sickly boy when combined with the stressed looked he had seen on the Namikaze family we more telling.

However he had never thought Naruto had actually ran away.

Shikamaru stood quietly as the other people in the room all started talking at once, trying to understand what Naruto was talking about in his letter. Mito and Erza asking their parents what it all meant, while his dad and the Hokage were once again talking thought this time not in a whisper. The only one not talking was Kushina, who was silently crying as she read over the letter over and over again after it had been passed to her.

Closing his eyes as all the talking was starting to give him a headache, Shikamaru tried to dissect the words from the letter in a way to make sense of it all.

To the young Nara, Naruto sounded like he was desperate. Something had scared him enough that thought he wasn't safe in the village anymore, something about himself. He had left to get stronger to protect himself, he thought that whatever it was that scared him meant people would be coming for him even from his own village. But what could be so bad that his own father, the Hokage, wouldn't be able to protect him inside his own walls.

He thought that whatever it was could start a war, and Shikamaru knew that while Naruto was young war was not something he took lightly. If the blonde thought whatever he was hiding or running from was that bad, Shikamaru believed him even if it was just a worst case scenario.

It was while he was thinking along these lines that Shikamaru realised something. There were things that the Hokage wouldn't be able to protect his on from, things that the village and people inside it would fight over.

Bloodlines and the power they gave.

Naruto said in his letter he discovered something about itself after he unlocked his chakra, something different. Everyone knew about the Uzumaki Solid Chakra Bloodline, it was common knowledge in the village like all the other Bloodlines. But what if Naruto had unlocked something different when he unlocked his chakra…something new.

Shikamaru was once again brought back to the memory of those black eyes and the feeling then gave him, like he was staring into the eyes of death itself…

"His eyes…"

Although he had said it in little more than a whisper, all conversation in the room stopped as they realised that he was still there.

After a moment passed and he didn't elaborate Shikaku moved to kneel in front of him with a hard expression, placing his hands gently on his son's shoulders.

"Shikamaru…what do you know?"

"It was at the party, just before everything kicked off when Hokage announce he was going to teach Mito and Erza that Jutsu. I saw Naruto was upset and I grabbed his arms to try and get him to calm down, but when I did he glared at me…with black eyes. Both his eyes were completely black, no white or anything. I didn't think anything of it at the time, maybe a trick of the light or something but…"

He didn't need to say anymore, the adults in the room suddenly looking a lot more worried than they had before.

XXX

Naruto was starting to understand why the Hidden Mist village was named like it was, even though they were nowhere near it. The closer they got to the Land of Water the harder it became to actually see, and the young blonde was worried about Captains ability to even find the Country in the ever thickening air.

According to Captain today it was thicker than usual, but they were only a few miles out from the Land of Water and would be there before the end of the day. Apparently the mist got thicker and thicker the closer you came to the Land of Water, with it being the worst the closer inland you got. The Hidden Mist village was located somewhere in the thickest part of the mist, where even on clear days it was still hidden from a distance.

Fortunately Naruto and Victor weren't aiming for the Hidden Mist.

Victor told Naruto he had gotten word from some friends that they had set up camp with the Rebellion, and that the two groups had come to an understanding for now. He had arranged for someone to meet them at the village they would be docking at, who would then lead them to the hidden camp.

However before they even got there Victor was explaining a few things to Naruto, mostly what he should expect after they arrived.

Apparently the Rebellion was only putting up with the Outcasts because they were outnumbered and had no other choice, so they were treated like unwanted trash for the most part. The two groups were in separate camps and the Outcasts were only allowed into the Rebellion camp if they were invited, which was a very rare occurrence.

In return for being allowed to 'do their own thing' after any battles or in some cases during them, the Outcasts helped where they could with the Rebellion. However people with needs such as Naruto and Victor were limited to the enemy shinobi, not allowed to touch the fallen Rebellion soldiers.

Victor also warned Naruto that they would all need to leave before the end of the war, even if the Rebellion won in the end. It turns out that it wasn't uncommon people to turn on the Outcasts after they no longer had any use for them, and some took the mentality that it was better to kill them when they had the chance instead of risking them being against them later. Without a village to protect them there were no repercussions for the Shinobi to fear after all, because no one cared about the Outcasts.

Naruto was disgusted with this revelation, unable to understand how people could be so cold.

Victor had simple shrugged it off and said that was just how things worked, and that it was unlikely to change anytime soon. The last hour of their trip Naruto spent in silence as he thought over everything Victor had told/warned him about, thinking over what his life was going to be like from now on.

It wasn't until they were finally able to see land through the now slightly thinning mist that Naruto came to one conclusion…

Things needed to change, even if he had to change them by force.

XXX

Hope you all liked the chapter :)

Just a heads up, I do not speak Japanese. It is likely that many of the OC's in this fic will not have Japanese names, like with Victor.

I also have a limited idea of the names of all but a few Mist-nin.


	6. New Faces

**You get to see a few of Rouge Clans in this chapter, though there will be more in the next. :)**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 6- New Faces

XXX

The moment the boat docked the two boys jumped off of the boat and started walking into the small village, Naruto with his hood up and Victor surprisingly with a blank forehead protector tied around his waist like a belt that wasn't there the last time he looked. Naruto had actually taken to wearing his own like a scarf, leaving it lose so that it could be seen even with his hood pulled up.

The mist was a lot thinner at the moment then it had been on there approach to the Land of Water, but it still circled the village on all side and seemed to cut it off from the rest of the world. Naruto also noticed that unlike in the Land of Fire, the buildings seemed to be more rounded. All the buildings looked like half circles laying on top of the ground, with round windows and even round doors.

The people in the village were all rather pale too, though Naruto assumed it was because of the lack of direct sunlight that came with living in the mist. He had caught several looking at them as they passed out of the corner of his eye in curiosity, but the moment they saw the blank headbands those looks were replaced by either fear or in a few cases disgust.

Already Naruto was starting to see the attitude people were having towards them, and it made him frown behind his mask and pull his hood down a little further.

After they had been walking for ten minutes seemingly at random Naruto turned to look at Victor from under his hood.

"Where are we meeting these friends of yours?"

Victor seemed to take a moment to think this over before giving a shrug.

"No idea, never actually met any of them either before to be honest."

His words brought Naruto to a complete stop, the older boy soon stopping himself when he realised that he was not following and turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow in silent question. It took Naruto a moment to calm down so he wasn't shouting at his friend in the middle of the street for all to hear.

"If you never met them before and didn't arrange an actual meeting place, how are we supposed to find the people taking us to the camp?"

Instead of getting worried Victor just gave him another of his overly large grins, before turning and started walking again as he spoke over his shoulder.

"Don't worry we'll know them when we see them. Just look for people that stand out and don't belong, like us...but older."

Naruto could feel his eye twitching behind his mask, but quickly moved to follow Victor before he got too far ahead.

As it turned out Victor wasn't wrong about being able to find the group that was taking them to the Outcast camp, and within another five minutes they turned a corner and saw three people that definitely didn't belong in the village standing at the end of a road just outside its border.

The first to catch his eyes was a giant of a man that was standing easily over 8 feet tall, making him clearly visible above the heads of the villages. He was built like a body builder too, with muscles on his muscles that could be seen moving under his skin with arms and legs like tree trunks. His head was shaved with the exception of a line of black hair down the middle, before it went into a long braid that fell to his lower back.

As they came closer Naruto also noted the fact that the man was wearing nothing but a brown loincloth, leaving the rest of his body bare for the world to see. This also included the blood red tribal tattoos that covered every inch of his body, including his face. The last thing about the man that stood out were his eyes, which were a very dark blue that stood out from the rest of his body.

There was a blank forehead protector around his waist for a belt that was holding up his loincloth.

The second was a woman that looked a lot more normal then the giant at first sight, but the image of normality was broken by the single yellow eye in the middle of her head instead of having two. She was average height with shoulder length red hair, and wore light green clothing with leather padding for armour that didn't restrict his movement and showed off her curves. She was also wearing what looked like goggles made for her one eye, which after seeing them coming pulled down to cover and hide said eyes from view because of the tinted glass.

Naruto thought she looked to be the youngest of the group, no older then her late teens at the most. She also had a longbow in her hand as long as she was tall, with a leather quiver on her back full of arrows with white feathers on the ends.

Her headband tied to her left arm just below her shoulder.

By the time Naruto turned his attention to the last man of the group be thought he was done being surprised, until he saw that he had _no eyes_ at all. In the place where his eyes would usually be was nothing but unblemished skin. He was dressed in simple traditional grey robe like clothes that hung loosely on his form, with long white hair that fell loosely to his chest and covered most of his face from view. He also have an unsaved face that wasn't not long enough to be a beard, yet seemed to fit him.

He was without a doubt the oldest of the group, what could be seen of his face being covered in deep wrinkles that reminded Naruto of Sarutobi Hiruzen back in the Hidden Leaf. He also had a long bo-staff that was being used as a walking stick gripped in both hands with a small bell tied to the top end, with his headband tied to his forehead. He also wore a pair of wooden sandals that made an audible 'click' with every step he took.

The three were being sent more odd looks and glares then Naruto and Victor had as they walked through the village, but none seemed to be paying them the slightest bit of attention as they one eyes women pointed to Victor as they approached and leaned over to say something to the other two.

Victor showed no hesitation as he walked over to the three adults, his usual grin on his face and hands in his pockets to show how relaxed he was. Naruto found himself slowing slightly and standing a little further back, unsure if he was as welcome seeing as he was new to the Outcast like. He listened quietly was Victor spoke to their guides and introduced himself, making sure to remember the names they have in turn.

The giant man with tattoos was apparently Okorimashita Kyojin, though he told said to call him Kyojin. His voice was very deep and Naruto could almost feel the vibrations in his chest. The woman was Katame Shapu, and seemed to be very soft spoken. The old man was named Buraindo Furui, though he told them to just call him old man. His voice sounded as old as he looked, but there was a small smile on his lips as he talked that could be heard in it.

It seemed that Victor had all but forgotten him by this point, and Naruto was about to speak up when Furui turned in his direction with his eyeless face as if he were looking right at him.

"Who is your friend Victor, I can hear his heartbeat behind you but he has yet to introduce himself?"

This got the attention of the other two, both now turning to look at him around Victor. Said boy blinked in confusion for a moment as he remembered Naruto, before grinning and grabbing his arm to pull him forward.

"Ah I almost forgot this is…well we don't have a name for him yet, I tried giving him a few but he didn't like any of them yet. Anyway he is new to the Outcast life so I offered to let him tag along."

Naruto tilted his head up slightly so that the three…or rather two adults could see his masked face, and was a little surprised to see them giving him an understanding look. Furui was the one to actually step forward, somehow laying a hand on his shoulder even though he could not see it.

"I understand, while rare it is not unheard for new faces to join the Outcasts. If I may ask, what was it that caused you to run? The fact you do not want to give a name says that there may be people looking for you…"

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes moved to each of the three adult, Furui's hands still on his shoulder.

"I unlocked a new bloodline that forces me to…eat Souls for sustenance."

He didn't miss the surprised looks that crossed Kyojin and Shapu's faces when he said this, though both were quickly to hide it. However it was Furui's reaction to his words that got the most of his attention, as a small frown crossed his lips as his head tilted slight to the side, as if he was listening to something only he could hear. But it was replaced with another smile as he pulled his hand away, giving a small understanding nod.

"I see, yes that would defiantly put you in with us Outcasts. Few people would be understanding to your situation, but you have nothing to fear of those among us. You are not the first that has special needs, and I doubt you will be the last. But enough talk for now, we must be leaving. It is a two day walk to the camp, and these old bones need to get moving before they seize up."

Furui gave a light chuckle as he said the last part, before make exaggerated groans and slow movements as he turned to start walking off into the mist.

The other were quick to follow.

XXX

There seemed to be no consistency with the mist around The Land of Water, they could be walking without being able to see an inch in front of them one moment only for it to clear enough to see in the distance ahead.

Naruto spent move of the first day simple following behind the group and keeping quiet, not sure what he could talk about with people that had spent their whole lives as Outcasts. Even though Victor had never met any of them before today seemed to have things in common with the three adults, and Naruto had listened as they talked about good places to set up camp around the Elemental Nations.

However while he didn't speak to them himself Naruto did take the time to observe each of the adults as they walked, taking note of different things he was sure would be good to remember.

Kyojin didn't talk much, seeming to prefer giving short answers or grunts when someone asked him a question. He also had a fire affinity, something that Naruto had learned after Victor had asked the giant of a man for a light and he simple grunted and held out his hand. His a click of his fingers Kyojin's tattoo's around his hands started to glow softly, and a small flame sprung to life on the end of his thumb.

Shapu was without a doubt one of the clumsiest people Naruto had ever seen, and seemed unable to go two minutes without tripping on something even if the ground was perfectly smooth. He had seen her actually walk into a tree at one point when she took off her goggles to clean them, only to draw her bow a moment later and somehow hit a rabbit two hundred meters ahead of them. When they had gotten closer Naruto was surprised to see that the arrow had hit it in the heart and killed it instantly, and he had quickly eaten the Soul as she strung the dead animal onto her belt to eat later.

Then there was Furui.

The first thing that Naruto noticed was that despite not having any eyes the old man was more sure footed then any of them as they walked, and despite his earlier claims of being old had been easily keeping pass with the group. The sound of both his sandals and the bell at the end of his bo-staff seemed to echo slightly in the mist even over their voices, making it so there was never a moment of complete silence. Like Naruto the man seemed to be simple listening to the others talking, though would happily join in the conversation with any was directed at him,

Naruto was also convinced that Furui was the leader of the three adults, at least based on the way they were interacting. The other two would continually look to the old man for instructions, and the moment he started speaking everyone else stopped to listen to his words. Even Victor showed the man more respect than Naruto thought his friends capable of.

Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something, but didn't voice it as they walked.

Eventually the sky had started to darken and there visibility was decreased even more as the cold brought more mist, and soon after they were forced to set up camp for the night. They were able to find a fallen tree to set up next to so that covered their backs, though the moister in the air was already rotting it away.

Because of the mist the group had no need to worry about an enemy spotting there fire, which made it a lot easier finding firewood. Naruto wasn't sure there was a dry branch for miles, and had no wish to try and find any. After Shapu finished setting up the fire Kyojin lit it with his thumb again, and before long the small group were sat around the fire chatting quietly.

Naruto had sat himself slightly away from the group, not needing the warmth from the fire or feeling like it was his place to sit with them yet. However after a few minute of sitting with his back to the tree Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Furui letting out a groan as he sat next to him, the bell on the end of his staff giving one more ring as he leaned it against the log.

"You'll get sick sitting over here, you should move closer to the fire."

Naruto was about to give a shrug, but realised that the action would be redundant and let out a sigh instead.

"I don't really feel the cold. I actually prefer it to heat and bright lights actually."

Furui just gave a small nod, humming his understanding. The two fell into silence for several minutes after that, Naruto looking to the old Outcast out of the corner of his eyes, while Furui just sat quietly with his head tilted to the side slightly.

Naruto watched as Furui pulled out a long smoking pipe from the inside of his robes, taking his time as he filled it before also taking out a matchbox and lighting it. After that the old man leaned back and took several deep puffs, quietly blowing out smoke rings.

Eventually the silence was broken yet again as Furui shifted slightly so he had facing more in Naruto's direction.

"So tell me, how much do you know about Outcasts and Rouge Clans? After all you are one of us now, I can help fill in a few of the blanks."

Slightly surprised by the man's generosity, Naruto shifted so he was facing more towards Furui too and licked his lips.

"Actually not much, I read a book about them but it was only general information and didn't go into anything specific. Victor's been explaining a few things to me though…mostly about his own Clan."

Furui gave a small chuckle at that, nodding his head slightly.

"Yes, Victor does seem like a very talkative lad. Why don't I start with telling you about those in our little group, I'm sure you are curious?"

"That would be good, thank you."

Naruto watched as Furui gave him another smile, before setting himself more comfortable against the tree and taking a moment to think before starting.

"Let's start with Shapu shall we? I am sure you noticed that she is not what many would call…normal. Shapu is a member of the Katame Clan, who specialise in the use of their Bows and long rang. They are born with only one eye, but are able to see for miles ahead so long as nothing is obstructing there view. However members of the Katame Clan also very long sighted, which means they have trouble seeing things close up. That is why Shapu wears her goggles, they help her see things around her. When the Hidden villages were first created the clan were well known for their skill with bow and as scouts, but because of the issues with their sight were also seen as 'defective' and were not invited to join."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing, for a whole clan of skilled ninja to be written off because of a small weakness that was fixed by glasses. He had seen Shapu's skill with his own eyes, and could only imagine what those skills would do to an enemy. Every technique had a weakness, even if some were kept a better secrete then others.

Before Naruto could say anything out loud, Furui continued.

"Next in our little group is Kyojin a member of the Okorimashita Clan…or as they are better known the Berserker Clan. The Okorimashita Clan were once one of the most feared clans before the Hidden Villages were founded, and many that still remember them continue to fear them to this day. They draw power from their anger and pain, using it to make themselves stronger in battle. Back during the Clan Wars a single member of the Okorimashita Clan could be seen fighting upwards of twenty enemies at once and utterly destroying them. However it is almost impossible for a member of the Clan to control themselves in battle, and they were unable to identify friend from enemy. In that battle fuelled rage they attacked everyone and everything, and so were seen as mindless beasts and were again not welcome when the villages were formed."

Naruto couldn't help but look over to Kyojin at this point, watching as he torn into the rabbit he had been cooking over the fire. While the man was large and intimidating, Naruto still found it hard to picture a single man capable of fighting so many shinobi at the same time. However at the same time, he could actually understand why his clan might not have been welcome in the Hidden Villages even if he didn't like it. What use is a solider that can't tell the difference between friend and foe in battle after all?

"Victor and his clan you already have an idea about, so I guess that just leaves me. I am a member of the Buraindo Clan, and as I am sure you noticed already we are born without eyes. I have never seen, and neither has anyone else in my clan. However it was because of this that we learned ways to see without our eyes, enhancing and honing our other four senses. I can actually smell the forests of the Land of Fire clinging to your skin, more so then Victor after the two of you crossed it getting here. But our sense of hearing has always been the strongest, allowing those experienced enough to actually be able to preserve the world around with by using sound waves bouncing off of objects like a sonar. However one of the unforeseen side effects was the ability to be able to tell when someone is lying…"

Naruto felt himself stiffen slightly, suddenly very nervous and afraid of the man sat next to him as he continued talking.

"I can hear when the heart rate picks up which is a big indicator, but there are other tells that most do not or are incapable of perceiving. Like the slight increase of body heat that comes with nerves, the spike in certain pheromones subtle for even those using chakra to increase it can pick up. All these things come together to tell us when someone is lying…like you were when you said you had unlocked a bloodline…"

Naruto was ready to bolt, just run off into the mist and hope he could lose the group. But before he could Furui grabbed him by the shoulder in an iron grip and held him in place, showing a surprising amount of strength for his age.

"You don't need to run boy, I will not say anything. While you lied about the bloodline, you were also telling the truth about the Souls I know that."

Naruto felt himself relax ever so slightly, but was still tensed and ready to run the moment Furui let go of his shoulder.

"I-I can't let people know about me…not yet. I need to be stronger before people know the truth."

Furui gave a small nod of acknowledgment to his words, the hand on his shoulder turning more comforting and loosening slightly. It was still firmly held, but Naruto was sure he would be able to brake it with a little effort now.

"I understand child, you have your reasons. It is your secrete and you do not mean harm to us by keeping it, but I had to be sure. If you ever do feeling the need to talk about it though, know I will always be around to listen. I should also warn you there will be others in the camp able to tell the truth, both parts and even a few that may know exactly what you are. They will mean you no more harm than me, as long as you mean the rest of us no harm. As for the Rebels…so long as you prove yourself useful they will have no reason to cause trouble."

With that Furui gave one more squeeze to Naruto's shoulder before using it to help himself stand back up, grabbing his staff as he did before making his way back over to the fire and leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

XXX

The rest of the trip to the camp seemed to pass a lot more easily for Naruto after that night, the young blonde actually talking with the others in the group more and stopped avoiding them like he had been. He also got to know both Shapu and Kyojin a little more, and while they would never be best of friends with the age difference Naruto did now think of them as friends.

He learned that Shapu and most of her clan tended to wonder the Land of Lightening, the mountain terrain giving them plenty of high points to keep watch from and the views were apparently beautiful when it wasn't too cloudy. She also liked to paint, and had shown Naruto a few of her paintings. Naruto had been a little shocked at how lifelike the landscapes looked, and had first thought them to be photographs.

Kyojin really didn't talk much at first, until the subject turned to fighting. The giant of a man talked about the battles he had been in and the thrill it gave him, the way it felt to charge headfirst and meet his opponents. Naruto had never heard someone talk so passionately, of the honour it held. However the other subject that got Kyojin talking was his family, which surprised Naruto considering his love of battle.

Apparently he had both a wife and three children, two sons and a daughter. Apparently his oldest son and daughter were in the Land of Snow, another land in the middle of civil war even if not to the same scale as the Land of Water. Kyojin's youngest son was at the camp with his wife, and was apparently 14 years old and named Kemono.

As it turned out Furui also had a family, and he spoke of them with nothing but love in his voice. Though apparently they were not with the camp, Naruto had asked where they were but Furui wouldn't say. He was also quite skilled at playing the Ocarina, and had even taken one out and played as they walked at one point. The music echoed eerily around them in the mist, making it impossible to pin point where it was it came from without actually seeing Furui.

Apparently most of his clan tended to wander the border of the Land of Rain, something about it helping them to move around.

Naruto didn't actually say anything about himself, not wanting to risk it. He did however explain a little more about what he could do, and showed them one of his Spirits.

However ask they came closer to the camps Naruto noticed the group turning more serious and subdued, even Victor staying quiet for the most part. The mist had also been getting steadily thicker until it got to the point they couldn't see further than a few feet in front of them, with the exception of Shapu who was leading them now.

Before long Naruto found himself at the back of the group with Victor, trying not to lose sight of Kyojin's back as the giant walked in front of them as the older boy started speaking.

"We have to pass by the Rebels camp to get to the Outcast camp, though we can't actually go through it. Just keep your head down and hood up, don't say anything if we are approached and let Furui do all the talking."

"Why, what's the worst that could happen?"

At his words Victor gave Naruto one of his rare serious looks, absently pulling out a cigarette and lighter from one of his pockets.

"We don't have a village to protect us Naruto, no one will come to help us if something goes wrong. Shinobi know that, and use it to their advantage."

Naruto had been hearing that a lot lately, and every time it made him frown.

"Then why don't the Outcasts simple form their own village? You all seem to be able to communicate in some way or other to get the word out, why not all come together and take away that advantage?"

Naruto was a little surprised when instead of Victor, Furui answered him from in front of Kyojin. The large man was blocking him from view, but his voice easily reached him.

"Where would we set it up? What Daimyo would want a bunch of Outcasts setting up permanently in their Land? While there are civilians that would except us and even willing help us, how would we find them? Sure together we could take most Lands without too much trouble and even look for people to help keep things running once we build it, but it would just get the other Hidden Villages attention and they would run us out before we could even get started. There is simple nowhere we could form a village."

Naruto stayed silent after the old man stopped talking, taking in everything he had been told. He supposed he was right, building up a village from scratch took time and manpower. While the manpower may not be a problem time always would, because the other Hidden Villages would see it as a threat and attack while they were not prepared to defend themselves….unless.

Before Naruto could finish his train of thought he looked up and was surprised to find that they were no longer standing in the mist, though when he looked back over his shoulder he could see it still there in a solid white wall.

Looking at the new scenery around them Naruto was surprised to see that they were actually already passing the Rebel Camp on their right, and another camp was ahead in the direction they were walking.

The Rebel Camp looked very militaristic, with orderly arrange tent in the same shape Naruto had seen the building back at the Dock village when they first arrived. All but five of the tents were the same size, with the other five being several times bigger and spaced out in such a way that they were as far as possible from each other while still being in the camp. Naruto also saw a lot of people moving around between the tents, most dressed in shades of blue and white ninja clothing with their Mist headbands tied to their foreheads.

He also didn't miss the way more than half the people in the camp were staring in his groups direction as they walked, and how many of them were either frowning or outright glaring at them. Naruto even saw a few with their hands on their weapons, as if preparing to attack.

Naruto just made an effort to keep his head down and stay with the group like Victor told him to.

The group had almost passed the Rebel Camp when a middle aged man and a girl that looked to be in her mid to late teen came out from it and blocked there path, making both Naruto and Victor tense slightly while the adults seemed completely at ease.

The man had pale blue hair that stood up, and was wearing a dark grey turtleneck with a blue kimono with a white outline. He also had seal tags hanging from each ear like earrings, and his right eye was covered by a black eye patch. He stood straight with little expression on his face other than a small frown that Naruto suspected was usually on his face, and the hooded blonde didn't miss his one eyes moving over to him and Victor before moving back to Furui who was now at the front of the group.

The girl had long red/brown hair that covered her right eye, and a knot tied on the top of her head. She was dressed in a very revealing dark blue kimono that showed off her curves and left her shoulders bare, giving the slightest view of the mesh shirt she wore under it. Unlike man's face she looked a lot more relaxed and Naruto could see the playful smirk on her face, her eyes also taking in the two youngest of the group before turning back to Furui.

"Good to see you back Furui-san, and you even brought two new little cuties."

Furui just gave a slight chuckle, shifting his staff from one hand to the other and making the bell ring.

"Mei-san, a pleasure as always. I assume you have a reason for stopping us other than to say hello, we have spent the last two days walking after all."

Despite the easy way the two were talking, Naruto could see the other people inside the camp watching them tensely. It didn't take Naruto long to realise that this Mei was someone important, and the one eyes man was her bodyguard.

Though the two seem to either not notice or care about the people watching them as Mei gave a nod of her head and her smirk dropped a little into a more serious expression.

"I'm afraid so. We were able to capture one of Yagura's shinobi while you were gone, we need you there for his interrogation to make sure he is telling the truth."

"Of course, I completely understand. Why don't you lead the way why my friends go on, get the new blood settled in."

"Of course."

Furui had only take two steps to follow them when he paused for a moment, before turning to Naruto's direction with his sightless eyes and seemed to be thinking something over. His pause quickly got the two's attention and they stopped to wait for him, looking from the old man to Naruto but not saying a word.

Eventually Furui got a small smirk on his face before motioning Naruto to come over to him, moving the hooded blonde in front of him and holding his shoulder when he did before turning to look back at the woman.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea for my new friend to join us, he has skills that may be able to help us get information."

While the man showed no other reaction then to frown slightly, Naruto saw Mei's visible eyebrow lifted slightly as she looked him over.

"Is he another member of the Dorima Clan? Because it is still early to get them involved yet, we haven't even started questioning him."

"No, he is not from the Dorima Clan. He is something different.. _._ "

Seeming to take a moment to examine more closely, or at least what she could with his hood up, Mei finally gave one more look to Furui before smiling and giving a nod.

"Very well, I'll show you where we are keeping him if you are sure."

As she turned away Furui leaned down slightly so he could whisper in Naruto's ear, making sure he wouldn't be overheard.

"Remember what I said about showing yourself to be useful, this is your chance."

XXX

 **Hope you liked it. :)**

 **It was going a little longer than I expected so I ended it here, I am trying to keep the chapters between 5000 and 7000 a piece and if I did anymore it would have gone over and might have taken longer to get posted.**

 **Next chapter will have Naruto meeting the other Outcasts at the camp, along with him proving his usefulness. Also after the next chapter I will also be posting an information chapter with a few basics on the Clans and such of the Outcasts, though there will be others later I am sure. There will be start to be a little action wither next chapter or the one after it, but there is also a time skip coming up soon.**

 **Let me know what you thought of the chapter :)**


	7. The Outcasts

**First off sorry this chapter took longer yet his shorter, really life was getting in the way and then I just reached a point in the fic that seemed a good place to stop (evil grin).**

 **Enjoy :)**

XXX

 **Disclaimer- I own nothing :(**

XXX

Chapter 7- The Outcasts

XXX

Naruto made sure to stay close to Furui as they were led through the camp, being careful to avoid tripping on any of the tent ropes as they moved. The camp seemed to be set up like an organised maze, with the majority of tents being made to look exactly the same so it was impossible to know what was in which.

No top of that was the fact that there were armed ninja at every turn, watching there every move with several fingering there weapons. It was more than a little unnerving for Naruto, but every time he hesitated Furui was there to give him a small nudge before anyone noticed. Despite the fact it should have been impossible to find their way around the camp, Mei was leading them with a confident stride that showed she knew exactly where they were going.

After almost 15 minutes of walking, they stopped outside one of the tents that had two shinobi standing outside it acting as guards as the only thing making it stand out from the others around it. Naruto was fairly sure they had been led in several circles about stopping in front of it, just to make sure they were lost.

The two guards snapped to attention as Mei moved to stand in front of them, before walking away when she gave them a nod of her head. When the two were out of sight she turned back to Furui, only for her eyes to move down to him and a gentle smile to spread across her face as she knelt down to his level and lay her hand on his shoulder.

"Ok sweaty, Furui says you will be able to help us convince the man inside this tent to answer our questions. So I want you to tell me what you will be doing?"

Naruto frowned under his mask, shrugging the hand off him.

However instead of calling her out on it, Naruto stood silently and starred at her from under his hood. After a few minutes passed Mei's smile turned back into a smirk as she stood up, seeming to be satisfied with something, though Naruto wasn't sure what.

Deciding he wanted to get everything over with and get himself settled into the Outcast Camp, Naruto spoke in a quiet voice that would be too low for any would-be eavesdroppers trying to listen in.

"What do you need to know?"

His question got a raised eyebrow, but the older woman seemed to take it in stride and gave a shrug.

"Anything that might be of use."

"Do you need him alive after you get the information?"

"No, once we have the information he will be killed anyway…why?"

Instead of answering Naruto gave a silent nod, motioning Mei to lead the way inside the tent. While still looking curious, Mei turned to the eye patch man who pulled the flap back without a word and held it for them to walk through.

The first thing Naruto noticed when he walked into the tent was the fact it was almost completely empty, with nothing inside other than a man tied to a chair in the middle and a desk with blank paper covering it and a pen. Said man looked to have been on the wrong end of an earth Jutsu, his clothes torn and covered in dirt. The only clothing that wasn't damaged was the Mist Headband on his head. He was also covered in injuries, with a black eyes swollen shut and several teeth missing.

However other than his sorry state, there was nothing about him that would make him stand out in a crowd. Short brown hair, brown…eye, neither muscled nor skinny. Everything about the man seemed plain.

Naruto stayed back in the shadows as the three adults moved to stand in front of the Mist-Nin, remaining unseen for the moment as he watched. The moment he saw them the Mist-nin's battered face turned into a sneer and he tried to spite at Mei, only to fail and have it fall down his chin.

"Fucking freaks, I'm not saying anything to you creatures. I'll die before I talk!"

Naruto didn't know if there could have been a better moment for him to make himself known, and smirked under his mask as he stepped forward to stand between Mei and Furui.

"That can be arranged…I'm hungry."

For all of three seconds after he moved forward there was silence, before it was broken by the Mist-nin suddenly bursting out in insane laughter.

"HAHAHA! Are you kidding me! You're getting a brat to interrogate me now? HAHAHA!"

Instead of answering and before anyone else could do anything, pulled out his knife and used it to slash the Mist-nin's throat. There was a small spray of blood that hit his mask, but Naruto ignored it as he wiped the blood off his knife and returned it to his sheath.

XXX

"Wait."

The only thing that stopped Mei or Ao from jumping forward when they saw the boy pull out his knife was Furui holding out his arm and telling them to wait.

Torture was a common practice in the Elemental Nations, a necessary evil. In fact before hearing that Furui had returned they had been beating the Mist-nin in an attempt to get him to talk, though with little success.

Mei didn't like the idea of a child being involved with an interrogation, or war in general for that matter. The only reason she agreed to allow him to come now was because she trusted Furui, and if the man claimed the boy had skills that could help them she was willing to give it a try.

But she didn't expect him to just kill the man, you couldn't get information from the dead after all.

Mei had no issues with the Lone-nin, or as she had learned they prepared to be called Outcasts. While she like many others held fear of what several of them could do, she understood that it would be hypocritical of her to hate them while fighting a war against a madman trying to kill them for having Bloodline Limits.

Though honestly she was still unnerved by some, Mei made the effort not to judge.

But even then not all of the Outcasts were hated for what they could do, but there refusal to join the any of the Hidden villages. Many of the Rouge Clans that had originally been refused when the Hidden Villages were first formed had simple been misunderstood, most not knowing about the intricacies of their abilities at the time.

The people setting up villages had been looking for perfection, and anyone that seemed to be anything less than perfect were not welcome as they were thought of as dead weight.

Such as the Katame Clan, who had been rejected for the flaw of having bad eyesight up close? All it took as a special pair of glasses and they were no different than any other ninja that needed glasses, but the short sightedness of the Shinobi of old had blinded them to the potential of many such clans.

By the time any of the Hidden Villages realised there mistake it was too late, and none of the Outcasts wanted anything to do with the people that had rejected them. Then there were the Clans and Shinobi that refused to join any village from the beginning, which left a bad taste in many mouths.

Mei wasn't even sure if people remembered why they hated the Outcasts anymore.

So she took the time to get to know them as humans, learning about who they were and what they could do.

Unfortunately most people weren't happy about this, which had forced her to set up strict rules to prevent her own people rebelling against her out of spite. She couldn't risk anyone from either side acting out against the other, so tried to keep them separated as much as possible.

Mei was well aware that the Outcasts were the only thing keeping them going at this point in the war, they were simple too outnumbered and outgunned to fight Yagura without their help. Unfortunately most did not agree or care about the hard facts, and were only tolerant of the Outcasts so long as they proved to be useful regularly.

Gritting her teeth and aiming a slight glare at the old man, Mei tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her to just push passed him. The only thing that stopped her was the respect he had earned, though that respect was wearing thin now.

"He just killed our prisoner before we could even get any information out of him."

Mei wasn't expecting the light chuckle that escaped Furui's lips at her words.

"My dear I can tell you now that death is not the final ending it usually is with that young man here."

Mei had no idea what that meant. However when she finally turned her attention back to the boy Mei felt her mind come to a stop, her eyes widening in shock.

XXX

Naruto would have liked to give the man a quicker death, but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to stab through his chest and into the heart. There was the brain, but if he hit the wrong spot it could also make it more painful, co he had gone with the only choice he was sure would work.

Naruto took no joy in slow deaths, even for people like he was sure this Mist-nin were like. If they deserved a slow and painful death then Shin would take care of it when they came to him, Naruto saw no reason to make it harder.

He could hear Furui and the other two adults behind him talking, but Naruto didn't listen to them. He was putting all his focus on the dying man in front of him, making sure he was watching as the light left his eyes. No matter what the man had done in his life, Naruto felt it important that he at the very least acknowledged his passing…especially when he was the one that ended it.

And then there it was, a Soul forming in front of him above the man's chests. It was smaller than he was expecting, and from what he could see more than half of it was covered in black spots.

Slowly out as he channelled chakra into his hand, Naruto grabbed the Soul and turned to the three reminding adults in the tent with him. He wanted Mei and the eye patch man to see what he was holding, and what he was going to do with it. The moment he saw both their eyes widen in shock and confusion, Naruto opened his mouth wide and pushed the Soul into his mouth.

He then closed his eyes and took a moment to concentrate.

Naruto and Shin could talk without Naruto entering his mind, but neither was as used to it.

Five minute of concentration later Naruto opened his eyes and without a word or glance at the others in the tent walked over to the table and started writing down everything he now knew, though he didn't write down the Jutsu. After all that information might be more useful later, so he would write them down in private.

It took another two hours before Naruto and Furui were allowed to leave, though Mei and the eye patch man still weren't happy to let them go. Both had wanted to know what Naruto had done, but neither the blonde or Furui would answer anything but the basics and eventually they had no other choice but to let them leave.

They had the information they wanted, though Naruto was sure they would be checking it several times before they trusted him. If nothing else Naruto had proved he was useful for now, even if what he could do clearly made people…uncomfortable.

The eye patch man led them out of the camp this time, leaving them the moment they reached the edge and pointing them towards the Outcast camp.

XXX

The first thing that Naruto notice when they were closer to the Outcast Camp was just how…different, it looked to the Rebellion Camp. Where the Rebels had arranged everything perfectly military and uniform, the Outcasts Camp looked like a mixture of different camps that had been pushed together. Few tents looked the same, all different styles, sizes and shapes. But even the ones that did look the same weren't together, all spread out in a seemingly random pattern.

But the moment Furui led him into the actually camp itself, Naruto couldn't help but stare in amazement at the people walking around and between the tents. As they passed a dark purple tent Naruto saw a man sitting outside on the ground that seemed to have fallen asleep, with dark skin and coppery colure hair.

Naruto saw two women and three children all dressed in animal skins with the head of said animals acting as hoods/masks and green eyes crouched around a fire pit, with any exposed skin was covered in white paint. All but one of them was wearing a wolf skin, with the exception being one of the women in a bear skin.

Naruto also saw Kyojin standing outside a very large brown tent with a woman the blond could only assume was his wife and several other member of his Clan. Like Kyojin the all seemed to wear the bare minimum amount of clothing, and their bodies were covered in tribal tattoos. Though Naruto did notice that one of the men's tattoos were brown and others yellow for some reason instead of red like Kyojin.

He saw several members of Shapu's clan as well, all with their bows and arrows at the ready of close by.

They passed a tent that looked to have been made into a blacksmith, with a furnace built outside that was being constantly fed to keep it hot. Naruto was a little surprised to see a group of 10 men moving around it at a fast pass, yet not getting in any of the others way. However perhaps the most surprising thing about it was the fact that all the men couldn't have been taller than three foot at the most, with several being even shorter than that.

Even while living in the Hidden Leaf Naruto had never seen so many different people in one place, and based on the way they were all interacting and greeting each other everyone got along just fine. Hardly anyone even turned to look in their direction as they passed other than to wave at Furui before going back to whatever it was they were doing before, barley even glancing at Naruto.

There was an air of calmness that wasn't felt at the Rebel Camp around them and Naruto liked it.

"Hey! What took you so long?"

Jumping slightly as he was brought out of his thoughts, Naruto turned to see Victor waving at him from a tent in front of them with his usual grin on his face. The tent itself actually made Naruto think of his friend in that it looked to have been patched together out of several different tents, and not all of them were the same colour.

However the thing that really caught Naruto's attention were the woman and the…thing, stood next to Victor.

It had the basic shape of a man, though was twice the size of Kyojin in both height and width. It was wearing clothes that like the tent they were stood in front of were patched together without sleeves, most likely because no one would make clothes for something that size. Its skin was a dull grey colour and had more scars then even Victor, and its head looked a little too small for the rest of its body. It was also bold, though that was mostly because it was made of metal with the skin bolted to it in several places.

Its arms were also too long even though they were just as muscular as the rest of its body with a pair of giant bolts sticking out of its shoulders, and the way it stood made it looked to have the posture of a gorilla with its arms being used to walk more than its legs.

Overall it looked more like a zombie then Victor…made from several different bodies sewn together.

The woman however looked more like Victor, including the scars and grey hair that was stiking up in every direction while still falling to her shoulders. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and like his friend wore a patchwork lab coat and a shovel on her back. However the thing that really stood out about the woman was her right hand, it looked to be made of metal and was several sizes too big compared to the rest of her body. Instead of fingers Naruto saw what looked like giant needles that could have been used as senbon, and he also noticed that there was ninja wire running up from each finger into her sleeve.

For some reason Naruto couldn't help but be reminded of a sewing machine.

As they got closer Victor came running up to Naruto, the woman following at a slower pace while the giant…thing stayed behind and stared off into space with a blank look on its face. When the two were standing in front of him Victor was practically bouncing in place as he pointed to the woman.

"This is my third cousin Gekai, on my dad's left big toes side…I think…something like that. Anyway Gekai this is the friend I was telling you about that eats Souls, I still don't have a name for him though…"

Naruto ignored the pointed look Victor sent him with the last comment and expected the hand Gekai offered him, thankful it was her left. Now that she was closer Naruto also notice that she lacked the slightly maniacal gleam that Victor had in his eyes, and was more calculating but without any coldness.

"Nice to meet you, hope Victor isn't being too much trouble."

Naruto could only give her a blank expression that could even be seen through his mask, making Gekai give a quiet sign before noticing that the giant was still by the tent.

"Hey Freddy get your arse over here!"

The moment Gekai spoke the now identified 'Freddy' started slowly moving towards them, each step making a loud thud and leaving an indent in the ground. It came to a stop right behind the grey haired woman, but didn't say anything. After a moment he opened his mouth but instead of speaking, a large glob of drool right on Gekai's head.

"Freddy what the hell! I told you to stop doing that! This is the third time today and I am tired of washing my hair every few minutes!"

Well…that explained her hair.

Blinking as he watched the older woman start yelling at the giant Freddy, Naruto turned to Victor only to see him giggling behind his hands.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Who Freddy? He's one of Gekai's 'Corpse Dolls', it's one of my Clan's Jutsu. Basically you build a body out of spare parts, then use a fuck load of Lightening Chakra to give it a jumpstart. They aren't the smartest and it would be an insult to wood to say they were as dumb as it, but if you know what you're doing they are strong and come in handy."

Naruto wasn't sure what to think about that, though when he turned back to look at Gekai to see her still yelling at Freddy for drooling on her head he couldn't stop the sweat drop from running down the back of his head.

Eventually deciding to just ignore it for now, Naruto turned back to Furui who had been standing quietly for the last few minutes with a smile on his face.

"So where can I set up my tent? I have one stored in a sealing scroll so I just need to set it up and I good."

The old man took a moment to think about it, before nodding to himself and walking off in a seemingly random direction.

"If I remember correctly, there is a space between Hodan and Hafu's tents in the north section of the camp. I'm sure you will be able to get along just fine with both, though I should warn you Hodan is also known as Cannonball around here…"

Not sure he understood but still willing to follow, Naruto gave a quick wave to Victor who would be staying with his Clansman before running to catch up with the surprisingly spry old blind man.

XXX

Furui led Naruto to the other side of the camp before coming to a stop in front of two tents with a decent sized gap between them. The tent of the right looked normal enough and was made from a plain brown material, looking like it could hold at least five people with ease. There was also a foot wide pole stuck into the ground that reached high into the air, easily higher than any of the tents in the camp. It was a large contrast to the tent on the left, which looked to have been patched back together even more timed then Gekai's had been.

Before Naruto could even think to comment on either however, Furui grabbed his shoulder in a tight grip and pulled him three steps to the right.

 **BANG!**

This action was followed by a loud bang sound, before something came shooting out of the left tent at high speeds and right through the space Naruto had been stood.

The blur carried on and cut through three other tents, much to the annoyance of the owners of said tents, before a member of the Okorimashita clan with a bold head and brown tattoos move to stand in its way and used his own body to bring it to a stop. The man was pushed back about a feet, but no more than that and the blur fell to the ground with a…groan.

Now that it had stopped moving Naruto could see that the blur had actually been a guy in his mid-teens, who was slowly pulling himself up and started apologising to everyone around him.

The teen looked to be average height, with a normal build for a shinobi. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit that looked to have extra padding on the outside, with a pair of fingerless gloves that seemed to be attached to the jumpsuit. Naruto also noticed that the boots the teen was wearing were huge and looked to be coated in metal, and the top of his head was covered by a helmet. There were also a pair of tinted goggles covering his eyes, and the beginning of a beard on his lower face.

"That's Hodan, like I said he is better known as Cannonball. He's not actually part of a Rouge clan, but a small village in Earth Country. From what I understand he was… _asked_ , to leave after knocking down a few houses because of his ability before making a run for the border before the Hidden Rock could take him."

Naruto listened to Furui as the old man talked, while watching as the teen started helping to fit the tents he had knocked over while continually apologising.

"What was that exactly, I've never hear of anything like that happening…"

"And before meeting you, I had never heard of someone that could eat Souls. Things like this happen more often than people think, new Jutsu are created through trial and error or even accident. New Bloodlines can appear randomly, going unnoticed for years. Eventually most find their way to Outcast camps like this, the same way you yourself did. It's no secret that the Hidden Villages across the Elemental Nations have a habit of trying to collect people like that, many becoming breeding stock or worse."

Naruto wasn't sure what to think to this news, being the son of the Hokage. He knew there were parts of the job his dad never talked to them about, but Naruto just couldn't even imagine his dad ordering something like that. But then again, how many times had he heard Minato talking about needing to put the needs of the village second to only his own family.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Naruto turned back to the empty plot between the two tents and pulled out his sealing scroll. Furui said a quick goodbye before walking off, telling him that if he needed anything to come and ask before disappearing between the tents.

He had just finished organising everything ready to put the tent up when a voice to his right caught his attention.

"You need any help with that kid?"

Slightly surprised by the voice, Naruto turned too looked at the speaker and much to his shame gave an involuntary filch and stepped back. The man that spoke was standing in front of the tent to his right, and Naruto wasn't sure what to think at first.

He had a very visible hunch to his back to cut his height by half and made his body look uneven, with very broad shoulders. His legs looked slightly too small and skinny to hold up his body, while his arms were slightly bloated in an odd way yet still showed signs of muscle and very big hands. His face was also horribly disfigured, with a large growth coming out above his left eye that forced it mostly closed. It was only because of his right eye that was slightly too big for his face that Naruto could tell they were purple. His noise was huge, but looked like it had been squished back onto his face and pointed up. His hear was a very deep red that reminded Naruto of his mum and sisters, and parted down the middle to either side of his oddly triangular shaped head. The man was dressed in a long green shirt that fell down to his knees, with brown pants and black cloth boots.

For ten seconds Naruto could do nothing but stare at the man as he patiently stood with a gentle smile on his face, arms crossed over his chest. However when he did recover himself the first thing Naruto did was stand straight and give a low bow.

"I-I'm sorry for staring, it was very rude-"

Before Naruto could finish his apology the man gave a soft chuckle and waved his words off, moving over to stand next to him and picked up one of the wooden support beams for his tent.

"Don't worry about it kid, you're not the first person to react like that."

Naruto was slightly surprised by just how soft spoken the man was, the voice seeming at odds with his appearance.

"I'm still sorry, I know better…may I ask…"

"What happened to me?"

Instead of answering, Naruto looked away and picked up another beam for his tent.

This only got another chuckle.

"You don't have to worry about offending me, I'm used to people being curious. I have been like this my whole life, I was born disfigured."

For several minutes the two worked in silence as they slowly set up Naruto's tent, the man moving around with surprising ease despite his body. Within 30 minutes they had the tent up and secure, all the ropes checked and tightly pegged into the ground.

They stood in front of it while the man wiped his hands on his shirt to clean off the dirt before turning to face Naruto and holding out his hand with another smile.

"I never introduced myself did I? Names Hafu, Uzumaki Hafu."

XXX

 **Hope you liked the chapter, again sorry it took longer to get out then planned and that it is a little shorter but this seemed like a good spot to end it.**

 **For those wondering, I based Hafu's appearance on Quasimodo from the hunchback of Notre Dame. I was going to post an information chapter after this, but am going to put it off for another chapter of two as I didn't get as far as I thought I would.**

 **Let me know what you thought of the chapter :)**


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